he hangs the yellow wellies
upside down by the side of the truck
on the highway towards sedenak
22km to the next persimpangan
on the lebuhraya 70 | 80 km/j
awas treler panjang
the sun washing my face
an orange glow exposing the ways
i have gone with these eye bags
skimming the top of palm oil trees
i hide behind the curtains
yet it spills through the top of banana leaves
cleansing and revealing
sins and blemishes, temporarily blinding
so i can see clearly again
the trees are stumps with no heads
some wear dry leaves for crown
down by the side of their trunks all brown
and burnt and brittle, the trees are stumps with no hands
like children from war, ferns poking out like fans
they lay by their sides like toy soldiers
i wake up because the bus goes bump
across the hard shoulder and
the air-conditioning is getting colder
like disused umbrellas, closed parasols
why die but refuse to go
digging their heels firmly into the soil
always on guard because their
commander forgot to say “senang diri!”
kenderaan berat ikut kiri
next door the young ones are growing
dark green, supple and sprouting
on separate lands, separate estates
the old ones have died and soon
they will be replaced
but still they stand up straight.
Wan Phing Lim 