A Kampong House Poem by Andrew W.K. Yip

Just a thatched hut by the stream,
But it stays long in my lingering dream.
A kampong house that gazed upon the sea,
Obscured by blossoms and bushes under a tree.

Along the old sandy beach at night,
I strolled in solitude with silent feet,
And saw new houses, flashing in floodlight,
Mock a lost kampong on a dim and dusty street.

And men will dream, and dream and forever dream,
Of the carefree kampong and its old time grace.
Some grew weary, watching the towering city gleam;
Seek the kampong magic in the old kampong place.