the lamp post

Nobody knows how many years 
The lamp-post has been standing on the street
Except the banyan tree

Survied after a storm knocked down its trunk and branches
Its roots entangle around the moss-covered rock
Looks like an old drunk fellow with a round big belly

Nobody knows the two lovers fought beside the lamp-post

The moon is high
The night is dark

I heard the woman crying
I heard the man shouting
I heard the dog barking

In the middle of the night
I was a child woke up by loud noises of quarrel
Peeking from the curtained window I saw broken bottles
I smelled alcohol

I don't know why troubled people always come here

Maybe
In the darkness, they just need
A light


Peling Lee
4-8-2014