Changi Village

I found my once paradise
With the same old familiar local name,
Thriving with much life-
A near kampong-like place,
Where I can stop to stare far
beyond the gentle lapping waves.

I found this place ; then,
Our childhood paradise
Where , as children we ran wild
On hot fine sand,
We built to our fantasies,
Naked , unabashed and free
With space enough for some poetry.

I found you; now,
Not so much my childhood paradise-
That huge metallic canopy
Dwarfs the sarabat stalls of those days.
No more can we simply sit and sip
Teh tarik and while our time away.

Though , you are
No more my childhood paradise,
Consoled , I am to walk
Those meandering wooden board ways;
Breathe in deeply as breezes bring
Sounds like music pieces
We once like-
A moment of respite
For our much embattled spirits to restore
With a philosophic smile.