How tranquil the blue of sky both clouds and passengers returning home fly back to where it all began, that place where bickers blaze yet love still stays.
Swim! dear blue bluefish before you’re caught and scaled and steamed into a dish arranged like an ornament surrounded by chopsticks Come, the reunion dinner starts at six.
Oh! the electric blue of fireworks blossoming like splattered dew a marquee overlooking new year celebrations and jovial reunions of all generations.
Cerulean
is the children with sparkles Cobalt
the grandma’s eye that twinkles Navy
is the whiff of pineapple tarts Admiral
the absent hearts.
Blue as a forget-me-not I listen to faraway chuckles and mums steaming chicken Trapped abroad I forgot (what’s new?) that I was blind to this festive shade of blue.
this poem illustrates a lunar new year celebration in the eyes of those who couldn't return home due to the ongoing pandemic. it talks about the excitement, the meals, the beautiful setting and the tiny details that this festive seasons blesses us with. but these are all playing out in the mind's eye of those trapped abroad, stripped of the privilege to enjoy the festivities. new year is commonly related to the colour red, but the use of blue here weaves in the overarching feeling of forlorn and melancholy.
photo credit: Josiah Ferraro
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