Childhood Sky Poem by john tiong chunghoo

childhood sky is always bright
flying with colourful birds

one exotic hornbill missed
its way to jungle, flew to town
to rest on a neighbour's roof
exhibiting its full splendour
and forever painted itself in
my memory in refreshing
red yellow, horn and all

a migrating egret flew to
a tree right in front of our house,
stayed there like an old wise
white haired man before
flying away my heart with it

the varied coloured pigeons
that turned the roof into their paradise
mating on chimneys, their wings flapping,
crowning in triumph over a female

and their signature rush to build
their nest, holding a straw in their beaks
the way a scintillating professor
out to build a sky of knowledge
for his brood, would

a few of the pigeons even flew
a few kilometres back after having been
given to our cousins holding dear
our hearts high up in the sky

one magpie sang each morn
away on a little chimney provoking me
to speak with it in excited nurseries

a forlorn pigeon waited and
waited till dusk for its companion
to emerge from the ground
disappointed and flew away
a grey world of disappointment*

childhood sky is
always bright with tales
and rains down memories -
sweet, sad, and joyful