c. 2017
scrolls unfurl and figures stand
by trees on bas-reliefs, hung
in parallel between family portraits.
below: photos of grandchildren,
scattered, tracing past
youth. the angklung sits beside
the piano. temple figurines are
perched by pastel memories
of Mah Mah and her children.
inky brushstrokes of bull and horse
adorn rice parchment. faces beam
in university gowns. vases, with courtly,
imperial scenes painted on them rest
beside a ceramic horse. the agong honours
through ceremony, a decoration on
Yeh Yeh’s chest, ahli mangku negara.
a water-colour rooster hangs beside
his portrait. he is remembered
like a stoic painting. it looms over
his organ, static from years
untouched, nesting nutcracker
and country hymnal. beside
is the flash of a peacock, a stork,
stacks of cassettes, the silhouette
of porcelain dolls. they vanish in the
drone of Mah Mah’s
polyphonous television.