solomonic column, white
scraped clean of spirals
here lies a similar name
safe, lamp-lit passage
maybe tomorrow, a shine
as a flute flourished
flushed garlands atop, around
us wet down, barley sugar
too extravagant with hope?
frugal enough with old dreams?
preserved, these dreams flower white
as sitting exhorts us, still
as a liturgy cooing
its soliloquy
new and different
a silent weeping, whisper
to recover this –
an ice-sheet soul, white
flash, bright glacial creak
Copyright ©:
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
ABOUT THE POET ~
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé has edited more than ten books and co-produced three audio books. The titles span the genres of ethnography, journalism, creative nonfiction, and poetry, several edited pro bono for non-profit organizations including Sok Sabay Cambodia, Riding for the Disabled Association, and the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre. Previously an entertainment and lifestyle journalist, Desmond has traveled to Australia, France, Hong Kong and Spain for his stories, culminating in the authorship of the limited edition Top Ten TCS Stars for Caldecott Publishing. Trained in book publishing at Stanford University, with a theology masters (world religions) from Harvard University and fine arts masters (creative writing) from the University of Notre Dame, he is the recipient of the Hiew Siew Nam Academic Award, and Singapore Internationale Grant, with his poetry and fiction appearing in nine chapbooks, various anthologies, and over 140 literary journals. An interdisciplinary artist, Desmond also works in clay, his ceramic works housed in museums and private collections in India, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.