Pure White
I was in the bathroom with my sister
as she prepared to take a bath, talking
about her life in school, reflecting
that she was already on the brink
of adulthood. I watched
as she released her young, black hair over
the small oval of her face, a few strands
lingering at the pink lining of her lips.
The nascent breasts behind her shirt were
fresh buds thrusting against the earth. And
as she pulled the rest of her clothes away
from her body, they fell unwillingly
to the floor, forming a shriveled mass at
her feet like the sloughed casing of a
snake, revealing the gentle arch of her
shoulders, the delicate rachis
of her back. Smiling at something I said,
she stepped towards the tub and
slipped into the surface of time
pure white and vulnerable.
© Cyril Wong 2002
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Bio: Born in 1977, Cyril Wong is the author of two collections of poetry, Squatting Quietly and The End Of His Orbit, both published in Singapore. His poems have been published in literary journals in Singapore. Overseas, his work has been featured in Atlantic Review, and Di-Verse-City in USA, as well as Papertiger and Slope in Australia. In 2002, he was invited to read at the Austin International Poetry Festival as well as the Queensland Poetry Festival in Australia. |
