Retired Medical General Practitioner. MA (English) at Open University, Malaysia. Published two poetry books: 1. Flickering Flame: Poetic Echoes. 2. Landscape and Cloudscape: Poetic Echoes.
The first three lines, haiku, was written by Paul Lenzi on July 3rd, 2018, before his untimely death. The last two lines was added by me, with his approval while he was alive. Paul was and is a great American poet. Please visit his blog to appreciate his poems and pictures. https://poesypluspolemics.com/2018/07/02/spring-tease-3/?c=82955#comment-82955
In a country obsessed with sex, flashes in the bush evoke many associations. Female fireflies are more attracted to fashier and faster shine, a phallic symbol for unzipped flies. The bling bling dig into female fantasy of masculine vigour. In their natural habitat, mangroves by the riverlet, one enters a territory of fairy lights, abuzz with mating activities. In Malaysia, there are no predators, so no death, only sex. The play ploys have been dramatized by our local politicians, in gay politics, whether real or faxed. The sounds of cicadas invite a sensurround of primitiveness, with rocking and rowing in the boat. Here, we use it as simple transport to watch the flashing flies on their twigs, disturbing courting couples in their act. No offence was ever intended, unlike those holy guys who liked to hide and seek, catching consenting adults who enjoyed their cheap entertainment in the wild. This is the infamous khalwat, or isolation, that are newsworthy. However, for the innocent ones, it’s fun to capture and cup a fly or two in the palms for close inspection, and to release them again.
This is a rengga, or a tanka, with 5/7/5/7/7/
syllables. The difference is the first three lines, a haiku, is written by Sue
Vincent (plus her pictures); I add two lines to form a rengga. Sue titled her
haiku as FLIRTATION; the rengga is titled as FLIRTATION BLISS, without changing
her content. Rengga is fun in poetry writing; it follows the mind flow of the
haiku poet.
Flirtation is often understood in a narrow
sense, as a transient causal sexual relationship. There is intent and
playfulness in an eventual sexual way, though not necessarily ending up in sex.
In human courtship, the art of flirtation required skill; poetry lift it above basal
emotion. In the animal kingdom, males are usually more attractive in their
physical display to attract mating, for evolutionary survival. However, in the
human world, the females take over the leading role; they are shapelier with
eye boggling contours; whether half or full exposure, or even fully covered.
The ploy changes role. Perhaps the market forces act on their better vanity.
Insects have no cognitive mind in such role
playing, especially in romantic social display. It is a basic instinct and
innate process, worthy of our learning. They obtain their nectar or food,
helping in pollination in return. The world needs varied insects, flies and
bees alike to attract different flowering plants. Diversity is a great asset,
which humans have yet to learn, especially in countries with multi ethnicities
and cultures. Any closure will disrupt good natural balance.
Summer is hot and people tend to wear less; varied kinds of flowering plants blossom and bloom beautifully. They are displayed in our living world; precious to us: sight, smell, hearing and other senses of delight. All we need to do is to stand and stare, to listen and smell what is around us. It’s a self-healing therapy; a blessing indeed.
MALAYSIAN HAIKU/SENRYU ECHOES 464: FLASHES IN THE BUSH
flashes their
Morse code
rival ruses
and play ploy
bling bling in the bush
sound of
cicadas
row and rock
across river
caught courting couples
cup her in
both hands
blinks and
wriggle her behind
o, dazzling display
Note:
We visited
this Fireflies resort two days ago. Tourism Malaysia has brought some economic
activities in this secluded Malay village. Strange that the local word “khalwat”
means seclusion, but it is usually taken to mean illegal couples caught
courting in secluded places. Of course, we have no business to involve in such
holy acts. My grandchildren, from the city, were so thrilled to be rowed in a
small sampan (boat), and rowed to some mangroves nearby. The flying flashing
lights were unforgettable experiences for them.
The pictures were all copied and pasted from the web.
What a delight and dashing experience to
watch waves ride on waves, rolling towards the shore and coastlines. They grow
higher as they approach the beach; dash and splash with such force and energy.
One can feel the vibrancy of nature: the crashing and roaring sound of both
wind and water. Suddenly these waves break when enter shallow waters and the
agitation turn into white foam or spume with powerful evocative visual images. These
foams carry oxygen bubbles, providing life to creatures beneath the sand or tag
into the rocks. They also provide nutrients for them. These waves erode the
beaches and shorelines; they also help to build sand bars against such
onslaught. In other words, they destroy and help in return. The energy these
waves generated is used for surfing and other power. The waves bring in cold
polar water to meet and mix with warmer water in tropics, assisting in
temperature regulation. However, giant rogue waves, though not as destructive
as tsunami, can be disruptive.
This reminds us about super power nations turning into rogue state, disrupting world order and peace. Things are the way they are, due to supporting interconnected conditioned causes. The arising of supremacy has interconnected causes, such as the dollar domination, science and technology, military power, and the media; the ceasing will be the breakdown of these supporting causes. Temperature differences cause wind energy, to move water as waves; or sound energy in its splashing; the visual and sound move mental energy to form association and ideation.
