by Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé
pool used to be free at chong fan’s :
we knocked back tequila shots in personalised mugs
slow-cooked soup too, then sweet, creamy coffee
from sulawesi, the longhouse ceiling in teak
a sudden debussy showing up the draftsman
and a book opened to a scalar diagram
like a tonic, and unified field theory :
cut that sprawl out of my life, long-running :
josie du shon’s at bogart’s bar, her hillbilly blues
a shared equal billing : an indie rock band at piccadilly’s
yuppie brood on the look-out, for an all-in-one free-for-all
seven-eleven has the cinnamon pringles, in mini bags
the harley diehards arrive in their chrome
poses and ponytails : there goes all the ad execs
in a black slink, arbitrary curl out to monroe’s
another dramatic clatter, and ice on fire :
draw the arch the way you pencil your brows :
and everything shapes, gets an outline
markered like almonds :
more aloof bouncers : such a tint of a gaze
before next-morning sobriety, whatever gets us
through the day : this deep rush :
y’know, sex – and puppetry and animal skin –
is behind the console, deejay and his yaki perm
suspended in a leather harness : and hammock
where the droll seems rife, just wrung.
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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.
Last updated September 14, 2011