Chamber of Poetry

Probably my most experimental piece

Plus Three

(People standing in a circle.
Trapping and enclosing.
Many quiet, some sobbing.)

{Disgust and anger.}

A white coat man talking to a black coat man.
Both holding sheaves of papers.
Both looking grim and shaking their heads.

(Bodies shimmering in a circle.
Merging and separating.
Many sobbing, some wailing.)

{Anger and sadness.}

An orange flame, felt by one and seen by all, burns.
It flickers and weakens,
Becoming a small quivering point of light.

(Shapes darkening in a circle.
Impenetrable and smothering.
Many voices, many sounds.)

{Sadness and resignation.
Understanding and equanimity.}

An inaudible sigh of exhaustion.
The flame flickers and dies.
Darkness and silence.

Alvin Koh Yau Hwee
29 March 1994

The only piece I've written so far that has met with approval from experts

THE LIGHT

The dark velvety curtains raised.
Steps paced the dark wooden stage.
The echoes of applause, from the darkness of the floor
Filled the cool, dark air.

A thin sliver of brightness
Pierces the blackness of the air.
"The pain! It's hurting!
Switch it off!"

Nothing moves. No one hears.
"Where are the people on the floor?
Where are the people on the stage?
Where is the applause in the air?"

The brightness increases in intensity.
Molten gold shimmers through the broken dome,
Filtering through the motes of dust,
It falls upon the folded chairs.

Silent brightness fills the hall.
Gilded columns, peeling and dull,
Glittering green and gold as a draft
Sets torn luxury of velvet swaying over the stage.

The Broken Dome! The Empty Chairs!
The Silent Hall! The Peeling Columns!

"Hateful Light! Go away!
Do not mock me and show me my broken body.
Do not awaken me and rob me of my only solace, my memories."

Alvin Koh Yau Hwee
17 September 1993