Postcard from Kopitiam

I.
 
uncle stare into stale space
with egg-white eyeballs
his legs wide open
waiting for woman to love
his bald head and squashed belly.
 
auntie aggressively stir milo
stir her dream away into the
olive beige cup with faded mint-
green flowers, her shrivelled
bra strap showing under her
Big Walk T-shirt from 1995.
 
da ge shake his leg and check
his nokia for message from sally
while sipping kopi-gao, his thin
spoon rattling as sun shine
on his sparse curly chest hair.
 
xiao mei munch cardboard kaya
toast in her blue and white uniform,
her pink metallic glasses misty
from horlicks, the schoolbooks pile
high on her marble table like guards.
 
ah boy chomp wanton mee, the red meat
same colour as his ah ma cheeks
and the 7-up taste like his first kiss,
his condom from 7-11 like secret
in his uniform pocket, haven't use.
 
the turquoise and white tiles shimmer
the toaster plate turn rusty
and the floor turn crusty 
in the still ivory air
while two cockroaches have sex
under the cashier counter where
auntie watch crow eat leftover and
she smell of johnson's baby powder.
 
 
 
II.
 
tell me first
 
what you want to drink
 
one kopi-gao one tissue paper
 
drink drink drink
 
dream dream dream
 
tell you like that one
 
love cannot last forever
 
last time uncle treat me so good
 
last time a lot boys like me
 
last time i always go dancing
 
put lipstick red red
 
perm hair nice nice
 
other girls smile shy shy
 
i dance open legs big big
 
no lah auntie kidding lah
 
last time very safe one
 
but auntie very hiao
 
i wear my yellow dress
 
with small red flower ah
 
hold hand drink fanta
 
ride bicycle see star
 
never think anything else
 
just smell flower smell cloud
 
smell rain smell ai qing
 
then choose uncle because
 
uncle quite shy quite good mah
 
but you see
 
also become like that one
 
now i everyday work
 
wear old t-shirt come work
 
no makeup come work
 
make coffee count money
 
got money go and perm hair
 
got time go cc line dancing
 
got love go bed with uncle
 
aiyah kidding kidding
 
auntie anyhow say lah
 
now where got love
 
bo liao
 
bo liao lah
 
i just dream dream dream
 
remember old memory
 
like that good enough hor
 
no love from uncle
 
i love myself lah
 
cannot meh
 
buy ring happy happy lah
 
see my old photo feel nice hor
 
correct
 
okay lah
 
mai gong liao
 
one kopi-gao one tissue paper ah
 
one dollar ten cent!
 
 
 
III.
 
Jibai
my maths own you lor
Loser
 
Wah biang eh
your cher damn hot
Hehehe
 
Kaninah
my mother no more job
Sian diao
 
Lan eh
my father drunk again
Lanjiao
 
Eh wah lao
i in love with that girl
Si beh swee
 
​
 
 
 published in Ceriph