Rachel Lim, Singapore
spirit still stalks my city
elemental, impotent
white of tooth, soft of paw
pads down sidewalks in the deadened evening
hangs back from the lights of void deck funeral
tail-flick from the roofs of houses
scourge of Singapura turned victim and sacrifice,
man-eater with clipped claws.
is community cat a successful domestication?
history is only as distant as you make it.
on wild nights do you not, in the slanting rain,
from pulsing pockets of dark vegetation
feel on your back a pair of ember eyes?
Rachel Lim is a recent English literature graduate with a minor in art history who lives, works, and writes in Singapore. Rachel’s art writing can be found on Alien Space Crab and one of her short stories in the All In! Snack Fiction Anthology.
She wrote this poem from “The Tabi-Tabi Po Prompt” by Team Philippines for Day 21 of SEAPoWriMo (Southeast Asian Poetry Writing Month) 2022.
Contact her on Instagram:@rachelwritesabout
