Lah-lah Land Diaries: Fits of poetry

written on a solo trip to the singapore art museum. IMHO, the quality of the works at the singapore art museum leave much to be desired. i've had more mind-blowing experiences viewing paintings at the ateneo art gallery and the ayala museum. and i'm not even going to talk about the blink! exhibit, which was a bunch of singapore artists trying to scrounge up a sense of history. however, i guess i shouldn't ignore the fact that part of the collections still inspired me to do some quick writing.

--

flat soles tread firmly on gleaming hardwood.
echoes of past visitors,
of a thousand curiosities sparked and sated.
step forward, step back.
a hundred eyes roving repeatedly--
do they pierce beneath the surface
or simply sigh and turn away?

--

book of earth

(inspired by natee utarit's multimedia painting of the same name)

read me
i am your furrowed brow
your upturned earth
your dry summer months
blow the dust off my pages
and cast your eye upon me
dig your fingers deep into me
as if you were blind
and could only extract meaning
from peaks and mounds
ridges and valleys
read me
i am your home
buried and aged
in hardened sheets
and blocks
of ash
and
bone.

--

a quote from voi lang, one of the artists featured in the "faith and being" exhibit.

The thought that flows through the mind, which attaches it to emotion, is passion. The thought which comes afterwards, to release one's mind from attachment, is bodhi -- the wisdom of enlightenment.

interesting. passion as a necessary and natural step to enlightenment. how very asian.