Editor’s Preface — The Tiger Moth Review

So much has happened over the June holidays, and I’m still integrating all the learning and experiences back home in Singapore. In May, I went in search of orcas in the Sea of Okhotsk and met not one but two pods of orcas, along with two whales. The orcas were curious, relaxed and happy, with the young ones doing playful tail slaps in the water every now and then. The word ‘family’ came to mind and I could sense the love the orcas felt for each other within their own families. It felt so magical and natural to witness these magnificent beings in their natural habitat, and even though the winds were strong and chilly, I felt the sun in my heart.

My next adventure would bring me to Lombok, Indonesia, where I went on a 50-hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Dea Putri, and learnt so much about myself and the gift of listening closely and deeply to my own body and inner wisdom. Guided by the Yamas and Niyamas of Yoga, I learnt to release my ego and loosen my grip on control. The co-teaching session taught me to stay grounded and centred amidst uncertainty, and in preparing for it, I learnt to relinquish my need for absolute control. I was both teacher and student during those seven days of learning, and coming back home, I have been returning to the teachings and committing to my daily practice (Tapas).

I was also honoured to be able to read my poems from womb song at the Wildlife Writing Symposium 2026 at Bollywood Farms, organised by Cicada Tree Eco-Place, and guide a private group Forest Bathing walk on Coney Island. The photograph above shows me on my forest bathing walk sitting with two mating snails. I had offered an invitation to sit and breathe with a being, and met these two snails on my slow wander. Snails kept appearing on this particular walk, reminding me to embrace slowness and take my time.

Issue 16 reflects this slowness. I have taken my time to come home, to come back to editing. Beautiful things take time to grow. This beautiful issue features our inaugural sound piece by Li-Chuan Chong (Singapore) who documents and reflects on living with nature: Listening to Cicadas, Urban Ecologies, and Oddkin in Singapore, and continues in the same vein with creative works that attend to the songs and sounds of the natural and urban.

Listening with an open heart, may you hear the whispers and sighs of each carefully curated work. May the teachings of the snail stay with you, as you take your time, sitting and listening to each word, sound, image, breath, song.

Esther Vincent Xueming

The Tiger Moth Review