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Dr Peter Lim Sep 2020
Just as there are heroes
there should also be she-roes
Dr Peter Lim Feb 2021
Gentle bird, fly, oh fly
   with your tiny wings, soar, oh soar
   to the bright waiting sky
  
   gentle bird, sing, oh sing on high
   a song of peace, joy and hope evermore
   dispel the Covid  that makes the world so sadly cry
Dr Peter Lim Mar 2021
I have no wings

        cannot fly

       I have two feet

       can get by
Dr Peter Lim Feb 2018
Getting there
so near
so sure
was I
but 'twas a mirage-
no
it was not
in sight
it was far
still
very far
(how far
then?)

getting there
an obsession
my steps I counted
myself I deceive not
(so I boldly thought
no, a sure no)
but
still the darkness
of the lonely night
no moon
nor a single star
to light the way
(how could I
have gone astray?
how could it be
THAT far?)

the map
I studied
every detail
I did jot down
so faithfully
'my compass
could do no wrong
it wouldn't fail me
as I travel along
this route hopefully
faithfully
to the promised land
(did my imagination
go wild?  At the next bend
I should be patient
there I'd find my coveted prize)

things didn't seem
right.  Every step
seemed to lead me
downhill. Why?

getting there?
I was beside myself
strange eyes
seemed to stare
at me from nowhere
( oh my, confidence
displaced!  What would
it be--to be THERE?)

somewhere
that I was sure
came a voice
in mockery
and that was
what it did say:
'  you are your delusion
  your own perdition!'.
Dr Peter Lim Dec 2019
I will not accept your gift
  it would later bring me grief.
Dr Peter Lim Feb 2020
Life summarised
in three words-
give and take

how much
did you give
to what degree did you take?

that which was taken
how much did you deserve?
what value was that you had given?

self in relation
to every other person
the me-and-you equation

that marks our human condition
a new paradigm shift is imperative
for mankind's amelioration

love is the highest summation
let me not be the taker
but the selfless worshipful giver.
Dr Peter Lim Mar 2020
Give me the wasteland
the remote, the undiscovered
the unfamiliar, the forbidden
I would regard it not as untoward-

there I'll set up camp
dig my well, seek a spot
suitable for crops- write
in  daily calm and unbridled thought

for what stares in my face
is society's endless falsehood and rot
that eats away life's every moral fibre
and for wealth and power people are bought

how peaceful and tender is the night
my every desire is brought to sleep
the past dissolves into silent oblivion
my redeemed self I will guard and keep.
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2018
To be left out
the glamour of it all
living life I don't shout
from grace I don't fall.
Dr Peter Lim May 2019
Life is about misty glimpses
never does it permit a clear view
we struggle blindly for answers
but hardly find a clue--

if life does a colour bear
I would say it's blue
for me a melancholic dreamer-
but I couldn't speak for you.
Dr Peter Lim Jun 2020
Poetry I've written
for as long as I could remember
  a 'poet' I still qualify not
honesty bids--perhaps never-

a glow-worm's light does flicker
only faintly---it is not a beaming star
however hard it might endeavour
it could never fly high nor far.
Dr Peter Lim Feb 2019
I could never be the light
to brighten up the dark
but would be happy to be a glowworm
with just a gentle spark--

kids will stay late to watch
their mothers' advice they wouldn't hark
higher and higher would I ascend
the bewildered dogs would incessantly bark!
Dr Peter Lim Nov 2017
A thousand times
worse than that of the mouse
human gnawing ( behind your back)
bit by bit it seeks to bring you down

there's no truth in what they believe
nor the slightest justification
they are empty and rotten inside
they can't contain their own frustration

how persuasive is their tongue
how they smile when they meet you
( 'How I hate your success and happiness'
  you gave me the perpetual blue')--

  those words unuttered and their feelings they repress
  their teeth with time they furtively sharpen
  they know not they destroy themselves
  the gnawing poisons them-- it festers and does deepen.
Dr Peter Lim Apr 2018
You don't believe me? Ask my wife Alice
She will confirm I have no malice
Dr Peter Lim Jun 2019
Go for your swim
jump into the sea
I don't have a trunk
alone let me be--

no swimmer am I
I could but bathe in poetry
as you would the waves embrace
words I'd draw to my heart in felicity.
Dr Peter Lim Jul 2018
If I could regard
gold as mud
I'd live palatially like a king
though in a tiny hut.
Dr Peter Lim Aug 2018
It's a myth
a metaphor
Golden Rule
an error--

though fragile and imperfect
as we poor humans are
what should rule our life
should be simple: kindness does go far.
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2021
Good night
we'll meet again
as the first break of light
shines through our window-pane
Dr Peter Lim Jun 2020
Good writing is more important
than the best manners
and the finest clothes.
Dr Peter Lim Apr 2018
Don't you ever say to me:
'Go tell the marines!'
my dad is Head of the Maritime Ministry
I would cause ugly domestic scenes!
Dr Peter Lim Mar 2020
Grace
when not expecting
yet everything
falls in place
Dr Peter Lim May 2019
Grace---hard to find at any place
   oh sorry!  you meant Miss Grace!
Dr Peter Lim Nov 2019
Cactus, cacti
fungus, fungi
locus, loci
alumnus, alumni-

it's just about singular and plural
no reason at all to be hysterical !
Dr Peter Lim Feb 2021
My grandpa seldom spoke

into his eyes as a child I looked

when I grew up to the past I took

only then his pain I understood
Dr Peter Lim May 2019
' I don't know, Grandpa'  I said
   he chuckled: '  That's great--knowing is absurd!'
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Peace and happiness is not given
      it has to be self-driven
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Beware that your confidence
doesn't lead to arrogance.
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
You might go about
but beware of the influence of the crowd
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Many are  talented
and smart
but succeed not-
they lack the persuasion- art.
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Don't aspire to be the best
  just don't fall too behind the rest
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Your parents can't do everything for you
      they pave the way---you have to work yourself through
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Just because someone is your best friend
doesn't make him a good person
you may have him in your heart
but should never give up your reason
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
A person bceomes smart
when he learns to work hard
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Show gratitude
   it's the finest attribute
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
This is maturity if you've learnt to accept:
   many, many times you would be let down
   (  people are selfish and good doesn't abound)
  in myriad circumstances-- somewhere, somehow
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2018
Be absolutely sure
before you volunteer
Dr Peter Lim Dec 2018
Give me a poem
  read me a poem
I'm sinking
I'm dying
come, come my way
soon it'll be end of day
bless me, oh bless me
with the balm of poetry
I'll close my eyes-gladly
as I drift to the welcoming eternity.
Dr Peter Lim Nov 2018
Ordinary white paper is by nature so thin
    but human gratitude is even more slim
Dr Peter Lim Aug 2018
I was dying of thirst
we had never met
you offered me your last drops
of water--how could I ever forget?
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2018
It calls for the greatest wit
to know the right time to quit.
Dr Peter Lim Oct 2015
GREAT JOYS IN SMALL THINGS
Why would you prefer
your joys to be loud
as fire-crackers
in the market-place and have spectators shout

'Watch and listen, here is someone who has joys to show!'?
let your joys be silent
temperate as a gentle noon- day
happy is the heart which is content

Why should one display
that which is best kept
to oneself? to preserve and treasure
that which is beauty-wrapped

to last till the end of time
(how brief are those publicly-demonstrated one-day joys-
grand pageantry, pomp and circumstance
by the night to languish away as spoils)

Great joys follow those
with hearts simple and pure
drawn to the sweetness of flowers
and fair nature's every lure

Don't you see the glitter
of joy in the innocent child's eyes?
don't you feel the wonder
of a poem or a song that life beautifies

I am thankful for every small joy
it's the greatest gift that has been bestowed on me
in a silent and peaceful corner I dwell
counting my blessings--happy in simplicity.
NIL
Dr Peter Lim Jun 2020
Meet me not
in these grey winter years
enough have we spoken
words would lethally pierce

our hearts-- silence is never so dear-
this is not the time for regretful tears
love's last petals have fallen on the frozen snow
sentiments that are dead no longer harbour fears.
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2015
GROPING AMONG SHADOWS

We all ***** among shadows
but whose—ours or others’?
can we tell to whom such belong-
angels’ or monsters’?

more real than self itself
the unconscious wrestles with the ego
we pride our knowledge
but indeed so little of ourselves we really know

what makes us what we are?
where is the fountain of our self-knowing?
are we the real we in our waking
or in our dreaming?

should we be afraid of our own shadows?
how do we make them disappear?
but how could I disassociate with my alter ego
when it never goes away-even as I am writing it’s here!
nil
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2018
It's not about
outgrowing myself
I would rather cultivate
my in-growing
within the garden
of my heart.  The dry
part has to be watered
the weeds have over-grown
they have to be discarded
leaves have browned and withered
many decaying on the sod
so long left neglected
the fence has fallen
(how dismal it looks
in the autumn rain!)
if I look away in indifference
that which I once loved
would die in the direst pain-

do I have the will
and when should I start?
the sun is at midpoint
soon it would be evening
and then follows the dark

the tools are waiting
myself I am testing
now I must embark
this shall be my redeeming.
Dr Peter Lim Jul 2018
Dear child, you can happily read or look
but you will not draw or scribble--listen to me
know that this is not YOUR book
but that which your mum has borrowed from the library.
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2020
With the child
it takes time to grow
but much longer
for the adult to be so
Dr Peter Lim Jan 2019
The little I have
is not grub
it inspires me
to keep my spirit up!
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2018
I shouldn't grumble
I am the cause of my own trouble.
Dr Peter Lim Sep 2015
GUISE
                (From a betrayed woman's diary)

How many faces does guise have?
and I know you have mastered this art
through numerous applications-
you calibrate your part
(before meeting your target)
how you should look
what clothes to wear and how to smile
you can memorise all this straight from the book
how many hearts have you stolen
and broken?
pity those who to your sweet voice did harken
how many did suffer from your guise, you reckon?

but life is a pendulum
it can't swing every time in your favour
the day of doom would fall upon you
you would fall on your own sword- you wicked philanderer!
nil
Dr Peter Lim Apr 2018
John, don't say H2O to my mother
she is a simple and plain person--just say 'water'
Dr Peter Lim Aug 2018
Did the habit pattern first appear
not from reason but feeling?
the person created his comfort zone
mindless that it would be his undoing?
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