They slumber not

They slumber not in mortal view,
The bravest of the bravest, the truest of the true.
Respect and honour are their due,
Theirs that died, for me and you.

They slumber not with mortal riches,
In fields and forests and muddy ditches.
Their lives persist as if mental itches,
Clawing back from dusty pictures.

They slumber not lost from mortal thought,
Though their battles have long been fought.
We remember still their lessons taught,
That, with their lives, were dearly bought.

- Oliver Jiang, 2013

Lest We Forget.

Time To Go

Time To Go
(Based on the lyrics of ‘Let Her Go’, by Passenger)

Well you only start to cry when your Moodle’s slow,
Only miss your high school when your lectures blow,
Only know you hate this when it’s time to go.

Only start to study when your grades are low,
Only hate the uni when you’re leaving home,
Only start your cramming when it’s time to go,
And it’s time to go.

Sitting at the back row of your class,
Hoping this time you'll focus at last,
But your grades start low and they drop so fast.

You “study” when you close your eyes,
When you fail you try to act surprised,
But in actual fact, it’s all just lies.

But you only check tonight which seat and which row,
Only want to finish and then go to the snow,
Only know you hate this when it’s time to go.

Only go and study what you right now know,
Only hate your brain cells when they just won’t grow,
Only start your cramming when it’s time to go.

Staring at the ceiling in the dark,
Same old empty feeling in your heart,
'Cause your brain’s so slow and set in park.

Well you “study” when you fall asleep,
But never to know and never to keep,
'Cause you procrastinated too much,
And now you reap.

Well you only say you’re tired but you’re hiding your woe,
Only know your name but you’re acting gung ho,
Only know you hate this when it’s time to go.

Only start to study when your grades plateau,
Only start to worry when you’re at 50 or so,
Only start your cramming when it’s time to go.

And it’s time to go.
And it’s time to go.
Well it’s time to go.

‘Cause you know only it’s SWOTVAC when the beards start to grow,
Only know you’re Asian when you’ve just got a mo’,
Only know you hate this when it’s time to go.

Only start to study when there’s no HBO,
Only close the TV when you finish this show,
Only start your cramming when it’s time to go.

‘Cause you wanna leave early but the clock’s going so slow,
Only know you’re screwed when your pen doesn’t flow,
Only know you hate this when it’s time to go.

Only start to regret not going to Prato,
Only try to revise stuff from long ago,
Only start your cramming when it’s time to go.

And it’s time to go.

Chinese limericks

从前有个女孩儿叫Linh,
想保护她自己的心,
她表现又好,
朋友不少,
可男孩儿们追她费劲.

从前有个男孩儿叫Jonhsan,
朋友们都问他怎么办,
他最爱戳人,
想游到日本,
哪像个男子汉?

Can't think of any other decent ones, and I'm not sure about the grammar/correctness of the two I just wrote...but hmm. Multilingual rhyming and poetry...now there's an idea.

鸟在海上钓鱼,
When suddenly out of the blue,
海突然了变绿,
What was there growing,
才能有原因,
For this whole blue sea to be changing?

Whoooooooo~

The Dilemma

The Dilemma

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave.
He has forfeited his freedom.
Only a person who takes risks is free.

- Author Unknown

Rap?

So I'm strolling down the street with my Glock 18,
Hidden in my pocket with a full magazine,
Bullets made of brass,
I'll bust a cap in your ass!
Fill the air with lead,
Gonna make you real dead!

Out pops a ganger and I pop him good,
That's how I roll in my neighbourhood,
But his homie sees it and does a runner,
Bringing the boys, nothing could be funner,
Shots ring out as they're drawing near,
And I duck away 'cause my life is dear.

Hiding behind a wall as the rifles rattle,
Worf would be proud of this glorious battle,
One feels lucky and marathons around the corner,
And I think to myself that I'm a goner,
Shoves his gun in my face, fires, fails, made in China,
And I smile 'cause right now nothing could be finer.

Suddenly sirens ringing, choppers and SWAT,
And now my barrel's smoking and hot,
So I take a moment, a breath, a prayer,
Convince myself that it's just a childhood dare,
Reload, refresh, step out into the battle royale,
Time to join the Heavenly chorale.

It's a three-way fight,
Bullets coming thick and tight,
Simply move and shoot, duck and weave,
Try to ignore the bullet holes in my sleeve,
And then a round hits my chest,
So now it's time for me to rest...

Rap? Not really. I mean, it's rap-themed with the ghetto-ness and all that, and it rhymes, but there's no attempt at rhythm, and I'm Asian. I think it's more just...contemporary poetry. After all, wasn't Shakespeare merely the biggest rap artist of the 17th century? I think rap is a kind of poetry. It's got a message, a meaning, a rhythm and a rhyme.

In other news, my 6th week of Semester 2 just finished. 7 weeks to go, plus a week of midsemester break, then it'll be swotvac and exams. Seems to fast...but I can't believe we have 10 weeks straight before we get our midsem break. Makes no sense. 10 weeks on, 1 week off, 3 weeks on, 1 week off, exams? Blah.

Just a lonely lad

Just a lonely lad,
Just a sorry sad,
Just a mixed-up mad,
Just a fucking fad,
Just a has-been had.

First day of Uni he's a happy boy,
Fourth day of Uni he's some girl's toy,
Tenth day of Uni his life's sucked of joy,
Now everything he sees he just wants to destroy,
All your fault.

So he's doing things that his heart can't condone,
Trying to make up for the fact that he's alone,
Doing things that others have already outgrown,
Every night waiting for your call on the telephone,
It won't come.

He sees people he knows but he doesn't even wave,
Sometimes he smiles, just to be brave,
But underneath that front, he's ready to cave,
Inside his mind he's just rant and rave,
Never be happy again.

Surround him with people and he'll just withdraw,
Finds all the social chitchat a bloody bore,
And even when he finds himself at Hell's maw,
It's himself he'll rely on, his own personal law,
Doesn't even care.

He pretends to follow the latest craze,
Hides his thoughts behind a distant gaze,
Or maybe his mind's running through a maze,
Just making motions going through the days,
Staying alive for what.

He copes by buying games to play,
Just living his life from day to day,
If someone asks, he's doing okay,
Can't find a way to let out what he wants to say,
So he writes a rhyme.

- Oliver Jiang
2nd of June, 2010