Waiting

All night I waited
but you didn't call
and I was afraid

Were you angry?
Were you sad?

My heart was in shreds.

Did you need me?
Or were you being happy
somewhere
with friends or
just by yourself
I was afraid

You were just being brave
and missing me
just as I'm missing you

and waiting

just waiting.

Do you know

You know how
people change
time
society & sorrow
memories that pierce the heart
and linger
ghosts in our attics -
which are you
which will you be?

You know how
you change
wine
sweet & sunshine
every day we are apart
you're stronger
silk strands swaying in the wind
what you will
is what you'll be.

You know how
I changed
swine
oblivious & odd
dreaming up my Utopia
while washed up
against the bleached shores of humanity
why did you
what did you see?

You know
we're changing
sublime
hopes & dreams
two distant stars
dying and colliding
how far will
this light be seen?

How Hurt We Heal

Come stitch up your tattered heart
With thousands of tiny razor cuts
Look how bright the welling blood
Keep it wet or it'll cake like mud
Feel how strong each shuddering beat
Slippery and slick with heaving heat
Hear how fleeting your fancy tune
How soon it'll all come to ruin
Taste the tears that fed your flesh
My embrace like a slithering sash
Savour your last breath of swine
And now, let mine be thine.


wingsofdeath

Sweet

The memory of me -
just a fleeting sweetness
fled from your fondness
so swiftly one wonders
it may never have been

Nectar
nestled in the nexus of ixora
hidden in the stalk till awakened
to the perfection of conception

Unseen by the roving eye
untouched by the careless hand
undone by the impatient mind

Such a brief drop
disappearing on the tongue
lost in the lakes of lucid longing
the mind grasps naught but the absence

So beauteous to behold
so impossible to hold
so brief the taste
so desperate the chase
for a tantalising glimpse
of what may never have been.

wingsofdeath

2007

Wishing a wonderful waif
A better and brighter life
A kind and kindred soul
That might have made me whole
May your years be blessed with bliss
And the stuff of merry memories.

wingsofdeath

A Little Bit of Beauty Beneath ***

It wasn't terrible and to call it pedestrian would slight it, but just slightly. The Painted Veil tells a decent story, and how it tells it can be viewed two ways. Some may find it ineffective emotionally since it is supposed to be a romantic and morally uplifting story but few Kleenexs were in evidence, yet others may find its subtle play on the viewers mood appealing. This it achieves through the Golden Globe nominated score which is a delightful accompaniment to the under-appreciated spectacle of the rural Chinese landscape that is lush with flowing rivers, tranquil mountains, picturesque villages and rife with disease, discontent and social malaise.

Both Edward Norton and Naomi Watts extend their credibility in their roles, even though their British accents can't fool even a non-Brit like myself, but their emotionally-measured performances were perfectly in sync with the feel of the film - wrought with an underlying tension that never really threatens too much but you know it's there. The only real problem I had with the film was the editing. The narrative seemed fractured in certain parts and I simply could not understand why a French song woud make it into the soundtrack and grace the burial scene, but perhaps I'm just being an ignoramus.

It's definitely more interesting than a documentary or a visit to the museum, but for those looking for thrills or romance, they can do better. There is beauty behind this veil, but it's probably not the kind they're looking for.

Arrogant.. My Error-goin' to see it **1/2

If one had never watched epic fantasies like Lord of the Rings or read really good fantasy, one might still be reasonably entertained by Eragon. It is certainly more comparable to low-brow special-effects dependent flicks that crashed like Dungeons & Dragons than anything even remotely approaching greatness. The more one thinks about it, the worse the movie becomes. It lacks the simple moral heart of Dragonheart. Its characters are sketchily-developed and possess nil credibility. Its plot is gratingly naive and self-absorbed. The more I think about what this movie (based on a novel which I believe will be as utterly crap) tries to be, the more it gets on my nerves. It is like a chao ah beng trying to acting like a classy gentleman.

Gripe 1: the title character Eragon is a pathetic egoist pretending to be conflicted by the power bestowed by his newly-discovered destiny. I simply can't stand him. And one certainly can't play soldier with your brother using sticks and suddenly become a tough and skilled warrior overnight - I know this for a fact from years of martial arts training. Utter bollocks. So obviously an immature adolescent fantasy about being the saviour of the universe and all-powerful. Oh I can't help it - I'm so strong, I'm irresistable. Urrrk! Gripe 2: it cast John Malkovich as the villainous king, and now just how many other movies have we seen that before?? I am seriously starting to lose a lot of respect for this fella. Gripe 3: this throws in all the elements that the producers thought pulled audiences to LOTR, such as having a siege, dragons and pretty elves and totally missed the point. Its presumptuous self-labelling as the next fantasy epic makes me bulimic (in other words - wanna hurl).

The only reason this horror even passed my ratings was because the special effects were decent (although perhaps this should be taken as a given in view of current technology), and Jeremy Irons was in it. He added just enough gravitas to save the movie from video hell. A pity that babes like Rachel Weisz and Sienna Guillory (who looks perfectly elvish) were totally under-utilised. Go catch this if you need a pulmonary condition.