The Bridge

Here on the forest bridge

I quietly sit and stare

At the leaves and the rippling stream

At the life everywhere

Some children run pass me

Waving as they go

Off they are to adventures

Daring, brave and bold

A young man returns

His eyes determined and grave

He is off to make his fortune

He says so as he waves

A young couple then come by

Lost in each other’s eyes

They don’t see me in their dreaming

But that is no surprise

The moss grows on the stones

As the people come and go

From budding leaves to summer flowers

Autumn leaves turn cold

Till at last an old man comes

And sits by my side

Looking about him in wonder

At all in his sight

“It’s beautiful” he says

In a voice soft and low

“How have I never seen this?

For I’ve passed here often so”

And so we sit side by side

Where the river’s song does not cease

And there on the bridge between moments

We rest in contented peace

Copyright © 2018 by Kwek Yi Zhen

Originally from: http://poemsforocassions.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-bridge.html

Stars

Each night I stand at my window

Looking for the stars

Those sparkles of dreams and of fire!

So close yet so far

In the scattered night they smile at me

In playfulness they wave

Out of the inky blackness

At once solemn and grave

Yet the night has no power

Over these points of light

Scattered and hidden maybe

But they shine ever so bright

Oh dear stars twinkling in the night

Shine on as hope’s beacon light!

For if you can shine in depths so dark

Then I too, can take heart

For in your twinkling lights I finally see

Why the sky is dotted with memory

For when night comes, and it must

We must have a light in which we trust

Copyright © 2018 by Kwek Yi Zhen

Originally from: http://poemsforocassions.blogspot.com/2018/05/stars.html

A Redwood's Time

Strong, alone but not alone

In a forest of equals I stand

Reaching for the heavens

With all that I am

Centuries pass in a blink

Forever lives in a day

I’ve seen empires rise and fall

I’ve seen men born and passed away

And yet here am I

Standing in the light

Away from the world’s troubles

Serene and bright

The centuries which’ve passed

And their troubles seem so small

For they lived but for a moment

And still! I stand tall

What is a day

In a thousand years?

What’s a brief cloud

For centuries clear?

What of the fire that burns?

Though it scars my side?

Will my leaves still not shine?

In the morning light?

For they can touch me not

They which do not last

Except in clouded memories

Of an inconsequential past

Oh look on me you men

For in my years you’ll see

How fleeting your troubling moments

In the face of eternity

Copyright © 2018 by Kwek Yi Zhen

Originally from: http://poemsforocassions.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-redwoods-time.html