"A spoonful of sugar"

i've always been told -
"a spoonful of sugar
makes the medicine go down" -
easier and smoother,
with no bitter after taste -
just a loving sweetness...

But lately i've been told -
that a spoonful of honey in my tea
would work better than that spoonful of sugar -
so here i am on my third cup of English tea,
laced with a spoonful of honey -
and i feel love flow smoothly down my throat...

And smile at the thought of someone telling me:
"Your wish is my command..."
for i would like to say the same thing:
"Your loving wish is much more than any command"...

Happy Birthday - to a loving sister

I'd like to wish you -
a very happy birthday,
and though i'm not there -
to say it and sing it for you,
or to taste your birthday cake -
in thought, i'm always near...

for when i think of home -
i'll be thinking of all of you:
mum, dad, and all my six sisters,
and secretly i know,
that it is i that you love -
a wee little bit more,
it is i who is your favourite -
since those days of long ago...

I remember that photo of me and you:
i was carrying chubby you in my arms
and it has always been like that:
you were the cry baby of the family,
though you were not the youngest;
you even wanted to follow me on my dates!

I've always treated you like that loving sister -
always wanted you to grow up and be matured;
i've always tried to tell you to do things right -
and feel proud when you do so...

I've never been angry with my family members -
especially when we all grow up together,
under the same roof, doing the same things -
eating the same fried tenggiri with kicap...

So, though i had to leave home first -
'Banished' from my beloved home and sea,
i still have them all fresh in my mind,
and my heart is always there with all of you...

Running The Last Quarter

As i open life's empty page -
i wondered what would be written there:
Would i be able to make the dash in life -
and emerge the winner, or otherwise...?

I was rearing to go -
to throw back my head
and test the wind -
to strain all my muscles, to bolt...

It was all my young enthusiastic heart could do -
to contain and restrain,
to just hold my horses -
and refrain from dashing forward...

And when the whistle blew -
a shrill, sharp piercing note,
it was like a war cry for the warriors -
a battle cry for victory that all young hearts seek...

Fresh and young and full of life -
i took the first quarter in a breeze;
then bounded round the bend -
now - for the second tougher quarter...

Life wasn't easy now - all the more made complacent -
in fact, now was a trying time for a young runner:
the hurdles and the pitfalls seem to double - nay, triple
and my breath seemed to come in spurts of passion...!

I've been through the drudgery -
and all the pain and misery:
running the long and winding road - that third quarter,
that Destiny had laid out before me...

I've tried as best i could -
to trudge every step with a smile, still,
for i've succeeded to go thus far -
with the smile still on my lips, but not in my heart...

For it is a great burden i've carried on my back -
and a greater burden, i've got on each arm and leg,
i've lugged them all along - thus far, i have...
but now i lay exhausted - before the last quarter...

For the path that looms threateningly before me -
that last quarter, was really full of thorns!
and to my exhausted limbs they seem to say,
"Give up - you'll never make it!"

But then God sent me someone special -
to lift my loads for me,
to guide me by the hand -
and to run on beside me...

So, i'll run this last quarter -
with a smile in my heart,
i'll make it to the end of the run -
with you by my side...

Friends i have many

I thanked God for giving me a friend -
then i thanked Him again and again,
till there were five...

I thanked Him for giving me someone to love -
and thanked Him more for sending me someone special,
someone to truly love me...

I've always thanked Him for being lucky -
for getting whatever that i'd wished for,
for making all my wishes come true...

And lately i've Him to thank -
yet again for the happy moments,
that i've shared with you...

So, thank You, God -
for all your favours,
and for sending them all to love me...

"Softly the autumn leaves fall"

I look up at the skies so blue -
with lovely fluffy clouds sailing by...
i think of your love, so true -
something that money cannot buy...

I look up at the hills and the forest trees -
and this is what i see:
golden autumn leaves falling softly -
rocked and cushioned lovingly by the wind...
so softly did each land at my feet -
and just as softly i gathered them all...

For they are mementos of your love -
so tender and so softly loving...
that i can't help but remember with nostalgia -
and keep each memory locked up in my heart...

"Lugging Two Heavy Suitcases In Life"

"Many of us go through life -
lugging two heavy suitcases:
in one, we carry past pain
and sadness -
In the other, we carry worries
and anxieties about the future"...

How true! How true!
"If we carry both these suitcases
all the time in our minds,
how can we live in the present?"

"Many of us waste much energy,
time and effort in looking back
at missed opportunities,
lamenting past events,
collecting grudges, getting even,
harbouring ill will and vengeful thinking..."

"We have to learn to let go of anger,
guilt, regret, regret, resentment,
bitterness and unforgiveness
from the past".

And we have to let go of anxiety,
tension, worry and fear of the future;
living in the past and the future
keeps you from happiness and peace of mind"...

Another beautiful heart, another beautiful mind

You're beautiful, too -
a very, very beautiful creature
not physically, but deep down - inside -
you are most beautiful, indeed...

For i've watched you as you handled people -
you were good: made them happy to be appreciated;
i've watched you as you talked -
to one and all, alike, full of respect;
And i've been studying you as you spoke -
to me you were full of love and tenderness...

I've tried to find a flaw, to gnaw -
but i couldn't - 'coz you were perfect: no flaws;
i've tried to find fault, surely there's one fault...?
but i was really happy - i couldn't locate any flaws...

I've studied your expression as you talked -
and find the more i looked, the more i liked;
the more i tried to breakaway, the more i gazed...
the more i think of you, the more i am amazed...

'Coz you've got a beautiful heart, and a beautiful mind -
and i am amazed, crazed, and swept off my feet by beautiful you...

A Ten-minute Snooze

I've just taken a 10-minute snooze -
to help me along, to be alive again...
i've indulged in a 10-minute snooze -
when the whole system shuts down to take a rest...

Yours was the face that i remembered last -
before i blacked out...
yours the countenance that i recalled first -
when i awake...

for there is no other face i wish to see -
be it during my waking hours, or in my dreams...
yours is the countenance that precides over me -
and follows me everywhere i go...

And i would not have wished for a change of that visual image -
now, and always; forever and ever again - unwavering, unchanging...

"I'll love you today, tomorrow, and forever"

"I'll love you - really, truly, love you -
today, tomorrow and forever..."
that's what i'll be doing -
and so would you, i know...

For the love that we feel for each other
is so intense, so real, so true -
that i doubt you not,
and i'm sure you feel the same of me...

And a love like ours will survive the greatest odds,
and pull through the fiercest storms -
for the love that we feel for each other,
has survived for so long, unwavering, unchanging...

So i make this pledge of love, and know it is true:
"I'll love you today, tomorrow, and forever, my dearest."

Nothing Really Matters To Me

Nothing really matters to me anymore -
except for your love;
nothing really matters -
if i could just have your love...

For you have made me feel so special -
with the tender love that only you could give;
you have made me feel so well-loved -
that nothing else really matters...

I would not mind losing everything that i own -
all my worldly possessions, my everything on earth;
if i could have you and your love -
i would gladly trade my all...

for nothing else really matters to me -
save your undivided love for me, so true...

A Gentle Reminder

Dear God,
Here is a gentle reminder -
just in case you forget,
for it is of utmost importance
to me that you remember
not to ever forget...

Dear God,
Please keep him safe and healthy -
for me, and for all who love him
for it is of the utmost importance to us
that he lives a long life of giving
that he is always happy and always contented...

Dear God,
Please accept our gentle reminder -
even in your busiest moment,
please remember that it is of the utmost importance
that you keep watch over him,
and keep him safe for me, and all who love him...

Dear God,
I thank You for Your trouble
to just remember this gentle reminder
to always keep him safe - for me, and all who love him -
for we truly love him, please God...
do take heed of this, my gentle reminder to You...

"Tell Me More, Tell Me More"

I love to hear you say it -
and wait eagerly for you to say it,
for a love tale is always fun to hear -
and it touches one deep down,
in the secret chambers of the heart -
so, my friend, tell me about that love tale
For i love to hear it being told - that love tale...

But tell me not,
in so many words -
the time when you had to suffer,
for it really breaks my heart -
a thousand times over,
to hear you cry into the silent night...

I love to hear you say it -
when the love is for me;
yet i've asked you to say, too -
when they're not meant for me...

For those were the times -
that made you happy;
so i will grudge not -
though it had filled my poor heart
with remorse...
with envy...
and jealousy...
and a feeling i can't describe...

A Love That Withstood The Test Of Time

Lucky are those who found love
but luckier are those who found
a love that could withstand the test of time,
a love that would not die...

For if love could still be there
after years and years of staying dormant,
if the love could not be killed
by the rolling years of time...

Then i feel it is love, indeed -
and i feel it is worth the wait it needs...

You Are The Moon - In My Night

You are the moon
in my lonely nights -
you shine so brightly,
and light my path...

You are the moon,
you light up my life;
and i could feel your love
as your moonbeams gently caress my cheeks...

You are the moon in my life,
without whom darkness will befall;
no cheerful laughter to encompass
and i would soon wish my life to pass...

"I Believe In Angels - Something Good In All I See"

I have a dream, too -
and like you -
i do believe in angels, too...

Like you - i see something good in all that i see
and would like to tell
the world about it , too...

Like you've said -
if you need someone to hold your hand
i'll always be here, to be your friend, too...

So, dear little lovable angels -
let me be your friend
now and forever...

Let me hear you say -
i love you, too
my dear, dear friend...

I've Always Been a Dreamer - Like You

I've always been a dreamer -
Like you - i dream of achieving great things...

I dream of friendly smiling people, too -
Like you - my sweet little angels...

I dream of love and friendship -
Like yours - when i look into your eyes...

I dream of happy moments of sharing and caring -
Like you, and what you have given me...

I dream of coming back - one day -
'Coz i like you - my new found friends from Bandung...

"You Raise Me Up - To Be More Than What I Am"

"You raise me up -
to be more than
what i am"...

You taught me -
how to love a lonely person like me
even if i were a stranger...

You are so young -
yet you taught me
how love knows no boundaries...

Thank you, my dear little friends -
I will treasure your little gift
in my heart, always...

Speaking With My Heart, My Eyes,

I've always been tongue-tied in a crowd -
that accounts for all the comments i get:
in Form 1, friends would gather into after-exam groups -
i would be sitting alone - with my story book;
and Miss Loke Chee Ping had noticed, and said:
"Cheng Neo, go and join your friends!" - chat...

When i was in Form 2, i was no better,
Mr Leslie Foo See Jork noticed, and challenged:
"If Cheng Neo would tell a story -
gold would drop from the sky!"
and all my classmates prompted,
"Come on, Cheng Neo, tell a story!"

Many a time have i wanted to put in a word -
to be in the crowd, to be noticed,
to be listened to, but i never did -
till i was in Form 5:
a librarian, a prefect, the Sri Barian Editor -
and not hiding in the shadow of and elder sis who speaks...

It is said that action speaks louder than words
so I suppose that was how my heart was heard
for what I can't say in so many words
i learned to write from my heart...
speak through my eyes...
And say it with a touch...

Till I became a teacher
and a teacher has to speak up to be heard
till I became a master trainer for ETeMS
and friends helped me along all the way
to grow from a shy speaker to a bold one:
i enrolled in the Innovative Teacher Competition
and invited myself to the district meet, and I spoke
then I went with the BCCC students to Bandung
And I volunteered my opinion: I spoke
not just to you alone, but to the whole crowd,
not only in English, but in Bahasa Malaysia as well
and speaking comes easy now, with 35 years of practice...

Now though I still find it easier to express myself in writing
i could also say the same words out loud, for you...

I'm thinking of You

I'm thinking of you - and missing you
That's what i always do -
spend my day thinking of you -
and missing you is all that i do...
yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too -
a year, a decade, a century or two,
i'll still be thinking of you -
and i'll still be missing you...
your smile, your words, your love, your care -
are all etched in my mind's eye...

and loving you intensely -
and missing you, so, so miserably
is all that the heart could do -
when a secret love it can't declare

It"s a Comfort

It's a comfort just to have you near,
it's that wonderful feeling
of being safe and warm
of being happy and contented
just to know you are near,
and to know you are here...

For it's your presence
that brings so much cheer;
it's your being here
that the party's lively and gay...
and you don't even have to say
you love me -
coz i could feel it and i know
just a look and knowing you're near,
is enough to give comfort that love is here...

and i would move heaven and earth
just to have you hold my hand...

Missing You

You are the pillow
that i rest my head on -
when i feel tired...
you are the blanket
over my shoulders -
whenever the weather changes...
you are the one with words
that make me feel loved and special -
whenever i'm down in the dumps...
and the one whose presence
makes the sun shine brightly for me -
and whose absence
takes all my joy away from me...

For you are my love, my heart, my joy -
you are my life - my hope to enjoy...

Waiting For You

I'll be here waiting for you -
though it always feels like eternity;
for when one has to wait for someone special -
the waiting seems to be never ending...

It just seems like i've been waiting all my life -
waiting, waiting, and just waiting...
it just seems like an eternity of waiting -
but i'll still go on waiting - if it's for you...

For there is no better thing to do -
than to wait for someone i love dearly
to come home to me, with so much love to give -
to shower me with all his love,
and listen while i speak;
and of all my fairy tales
i think you'ld love to hear what i love to tell:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ...
It is about a love so pure -
a love for someone whom you will never have:
not only coz you are a hunchback
but also coz a lover she already has...

I love to tell of the hunchback -
the hero in my childhood dreams;
not coz he is a prince charming on a white steed -
but coz he loves intensely, and he cares and protects...
for those are the qualities that any girl would look for -
in the man she adores - in the one she loves, so dearly...

The Shadow on the Wall

If i should die before you -
i'll be that shadow on the wall
to keep you company, to see you safe and happy -
thru all your years with me no longer there...

If i should die before you -
and i guess i would,
as you have to sing to me -
with my favourite rose from my garden...
if i should die before you -
this is all that i want you to do...

For if i should die before you -
and i have a strong feeling i would;
i would want you to go on living, happily,
and go on doing kinds deeds as tho they're for me...
and i would be there to see that you are safe and happy:
that little shadow on the wall would be me...
and if i do miss you so much - or you me -
then i would be that little butterfly
that stopped to rest on your knee...
so don't flick me off - be gentle to me,
and give me a kindly lift up to my picnic tree...

and you'll be able to feel my warm touch
on your cheek, as i flitter and flutter by...
and you'll know that i say 'i love you'
when you hear the breeze sigh through the door...
and, oh fear not my darling, if you feel
a little tingling sensation down your crooked spine -
for that would be me, giving you a kiss,
and saying,"i'm missing you dearly too"...

Another Beautiful Sunrise

Oh yes, it's a beautiful sunrise -
more lovely than yesterday,
more vibrant in its colours -
the lovely colours of my heart...

For i've found love at my doorstep -
waiting for me as i awake,
i found love ready and waiting
for me to greet the beautiful sunrise...

After a long, long time of gloomy skies -
i finally find, a beautiful sunrise at my door,
after a long, long wait in suspense -
i finally find, what i've been searching for...


All my life i've been waiting -
just for this one moment of happiness,
all my life i've been yearning
to see such a beautiful work of art...
and today, God deem it fit for me to see
the promise of a beautiful dream come true...

Today God showed me a sign that i understand -
that life has it's ups and downs,
it's joyous moments and it's tragic ones -
life has all that i crave, all that He gave...

Life has been kind to me -
i could feel it clearly
in my heart and in my bones -
and i thank God for it,
i thank God for all His favours -
i thank God for giving you to me...

When a Heart Cries Out for Help

When a friend is sad or in trouble -
my heart goes out to him (or her);
for when i hear that familiar cry for help -
i will not tarry - but fly to your side;
'coz i know how it feels to be lonely
and how it feels to be sad;
so my dear friend,
you'll never need to be lonely
and you'll never ever need to be sad
if i can help it, i would do my best
to see that you are never hungry
nor lack a helping hand that cares
i promise i'll be there to see you safe
and i'll always be there by your side
be it a journey of a few steps
or a long one of a thousand steps;

You can count on me, my dear friend:
to find a way to provide all that you lack...

It's a Wonderful World

My world is truly so, so wonderful -
ever since you found me
for the joy of living thru'
each moment of each wonderful day
is truly beyond any word to describe,
is really, truly beyond words to say...

For i have lived a wonderful life
in this most wonderful world -
till you came by,
and made it more wonderful still,
by teaching me to leave all my cares behind,
by teaching me to live and love again...

So i've lived and i've loved more intensely -
and i've found that i love life more intensely with each passing day

Giving Away What You Love

I've learnt this thru' a friend:
that we should give away something
that we love and that we want -
not something that we don't need, and don't want
that's the yardstick to measure
a truly generous person...

So i'll give and i'll share
the things that i love most,
the things that i treasure;
for most times i find that
God returns to me tenfold,
what i have so magnamously sacrificed...

So i'll always give and i'll always share:
what i have, and what i care...