Visit Malaysia Year Poem - Pulau Ketam (State Of Selangor) Poem by john tiong chunghoo

pulau ketam
the crabs claw
us there

pincers, white fluffy flesh
red hot, spicy shells
under our white
plastic hammers
each leg, pincer,
carapace broken
licked clean

the two eyes
now jutting out of
the auspicious
light as flight
red orange shell
so cleaned up of life
so meaningless
and emptied
of existence
a loser of
the world
except for
its rich delicious
steamy white
vein laced flesh

the shells
stripped of all the limbs
straddle the table
play out the animals in us
some are upside down
some in upright position
some helter skelter
loose signatures of the
delicious triumph of a two legged
over a ten legged wonder

now only our hands are
crawling all over the table
grabbing parts, positioning legs,
pincer for hammers

we are nothing
more than dinosaur
when it comes to crabs

they are but fluffy, juicy, spicy,
pulpy, squeaky rich protein to
fill up the stomach
to build the muscles
of our own limbs

more customers coming?
get ready the crabs
get ready the rice
and the hammers

how many of them please?
how many crabs?

ketam ketam ketam
plankwalk that make
our walk sound crab
and.....dinosaur

Ketam is the malay word for crabs. pulau ketam is an island 30 minutes away from port klang in selangor. port klang is about an hour by commuter train from kuala lumpur and the same amount of time if one drives in one's own car. the island is famous for its seafood. the wooden plankwalk to the numerous restaurants makes one's walk sound crab because it goes ketam ketam ketam.