Jedd Ong

Jedd Ong Nov 2013

I.

The pen
Taps
Against my leadened desk,
All reverberating echoes and
Roaring staccatos:

Something to keep the soldiers
Rooted
In the chalkboard trenches alive-

A cackling reminder of
Freedom.

II.

Peeled away is the blissful world of
Morphine-addled haze
And round edges

The smell of pine trees
And Monday Vendetta.

Up in smoke.
Offered to the gods.
The great big furnace in the sky—

I carry them with me in an ashen urn.

As the days pass
A rhythmic stutter
Lumps
At the bottom of my throat.

School's back. No real inquiries, just anxieties. And a whole lot of longing.

Jedd Ong Nov 2013

To Forge Thy Sword

I heard you tossed sinners to the flame.

I was in disbelief until I smelled my soul roasting on a spit.

I know that purgatory doesn't exist.
Hell far worse than nothingness.

I know that all torture is godless,
Not all pain meant to temper.

As I screamed, you told me to
Look up.

Existential crisis again because Czeslaw Milosz just convinced me I'm a horrible person. I'm assuming this is how the value of grace is measured.

Jedd Ong Oct 2013

Gilmore Street, Before Christmas

Beyond the halo-tinged pavements
Lie corridors devoid of rust
Joyful and triumphant,
Inviting all the faithful to drop by.

Lanterns of every color
Dance and sing and call out
To us, the travelers
Who won't even bother spending a cent.

The eerie gloss of a choir
Rings far and beyond the forests
Of broken glass that
Challenge it note for note.

Jedd Ong Oct 2013

Listening to Fellowship Creative's Always Been About You

There are songs that just
Make you want to
Lace
Up your running shoes and
Race
The morning sky as it
Rises.

Think Julian Casablancas
Of the "Is This It" era.

Think "Last Nite."

As your aching feet beg you to
Stop, the flowers around you
Beg you to
Keep
Going.

Think a whole spectrum of colors.
Think Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,
Except with less
Hallucinogens and more...
Orange juice

Swirling around like
Some fruity whirlpool of life
Which you're too scared to
Fully jump into because
It has teeth
And because
It reminds you of
Those other
Whirlpools.

Instead you crane your head forward
To see how goofy your face
Looks in the reflection,

How the ripples seem to
Endlessly badger you to just

"Come on in!"

:)

Jedd Ong Oct 2013

Pablo

I remember cobblestone streets
And dusted sidewalks,
The cracks of a whip
Breaking open a stone:
Water spilling over—
Bitter and thin.

Who are we to be fathers, mothers...

Jedd Ong Oct 2013

Dusk,

At 5
45 my eyes
Have just begun
To slowly
Creep
Into their sockets.

My body
Screams at me
To go back to sleep,

But can I help it
If dawn
Was the only
Quiet

I've been able to muster
In a long time?

Jedd Ong Oct 2013

Growing Pains

At birth,
I came out
Teetering
On a ridiculously
Wide platform.

You could probably
Land a plane
On it.

I was blessed that
The sharp edges
Were laid out
So far
From my grasp.

Blessed
That I would
Forever live
In safety,

All cords
Securing me
Like a harness

At least till I fell.

Suspended,
The cords
Bit
Into my
Skin,
Bringing me inches
From the ground

Soaked in eye sweat
And sweat sweat.

Flesh and water are both
Excellent conductors
Of electricity.

Please
Don't pull the umbilical cord.

For my brother.