曲/取 by Crispin Rodrigues
/ every verse i know / i've stolen it from / somewhere / a beatles song / a line from chow yun fat / as he lights a cigarette / using a dollar bill / while my relatives speak / in ever-increasing / cantonese / their voices like joss paper / floating to appease / our ancestors /
/ solitary / on a sofa / my father sits / the only one watching / intently / he taught me / no kristang words / only the sayings of john / paul / george / ringo / jai guru deva om / how we must come / by way of penang / by way of goa / by way of zanzibar / from portugal / they tumble blindly / as they make their way / across the universe / he's lonely / because his sister / his brother / his brother / are gone / across the universe / jai guru deva om /
/ every word / i know / i've stolen it / from somewhere else / my lonely father / my loud mother / my louder relatives / a chow yun fat movie / my relatives across the universe / a beatles song /
Published in dragon.paper.wind. (龙卷风) (2024)
Purchase the book here.
Crispin Rodrigues is a writer who is interested in mixed-race identities and mixed bodies. He is the author of three collections of poetry and the co-editor of an anthology of Singapore-based youth poets, entitled Crazy Little Pyromaniacs. His poems, short fiction and reviews have appeared in a several journals and anthologies. He is also the organiser of Uncanny Yishun, a literary tour of his hometown. You can follow him on Instagram at @dragon.paper.wind.
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