Sims Drive

My first home
Home and house I was born into
A west-facing house
Setting sun shining through
A house of ten in 2 bedrooms
Grandparents, parents, 2 uncles and 3 aunts

Besides Manjusri
Lived in for 5 years
Lined with floor mats
Cemented kitchen floor
Where shower and urinal do not talk

A corridor where kids played
Micro-village of grandmothers
Casual chatters all day long
With occasional card games

A large landing platform where the lifts were
We were on 7th floor while the lifts go to 6th and 10th
A space where kids run and play
A place where kids play sparkles every Chinese New Year eve
A place where Grandmothers will gather and wrap rice dumplings all night

That was the place where we gathered
For joy, for laughter, for sadness, and for the last day
The place where we seek refuge when wanted
The place where Jackson and Melvin sought refuge when needed
The place for all weathers
The place for all fritters

The place I last saw in June 2008
The place was lost to us since 2009
The place of immense memories
If the walls could speak
Tales of ……
The place ……
The place ……
-- 21/06/16

Commentary: Block 41, Sims Drive, is the place I spend my childhood – my paternal grandparents’ place. It is right beside Manjusri Secondary School where there were 2 stone lions at the school gate. The stone lions which I had sat on many times as a kid. If the walls can talk, there are many tales that it can tell. After grandma’s passing in June 2008, I never visited it again. It was eventually sold in 2009.