Mui-Ling Teh

Art | Photography | Poetry | Miniature Origami

Like the heart that weeps when the smile is lost,
Life leaves the earth covered up in frost.

On the coldest day of autumn this year,
The full moon shined so bright and clear.

As Gaia loses colours towards summer’s end,
A rainbow surrounds heaven, where dark and light blend.

Lives once keeping Gaia warm have found a new home.
But when a smile is gone, does joy have a place to roam?

If people can be remembered after their lives pass on,
Could a smile be remembered, even after joy is gone?

Written November, 11, 2011.

In 2011, there were many things on my mind, for which I struggled to find the words to describe. On November 11, 2011, on Remembrance day, I was finally able to wrap it up. At the time, it was the coldest day of the autumn that year (the first time to see frost), but the full moon, surrounded by a rainbow, was beautiful…

Remembrance Day, the day to remember those who have passed – I have thought much about death that year; about people around me getting older and passing on. But I haven’t only been thinking about it in a literal way, but a death of a mind, a passion, a heart… I was there the year before; finding myself in a dark place due to some constant series of unforeseen incidents that fell upon me. I began to lose my passion for art, and dislike the very things that I used to find pleasure in. Looking back it was scary how much I changed…

Since 2011 I began to rekindle the passion that I lost, but the new problem was the lack of time. So during that year I wrote more instead. I’ve had a lot to think about and ponder on over that past year. There is so much more I can say, but I may save that for another day. I can only hope that before the day I die I will be given that opportunity to share; and that by the time that opportunity comes, I will still be that same person I am today who has the desire to share and create. I can’t promise anything though…

I once read a Japanese story – a true story – about a little girl who transferred to a new school with a kind principal. She loved it there and promised the principal that she would become a teacher at his school. Sadly however, that school got burned during the war and she could not fulfill her promise.

In my current state, while I still live in difficult times, I am appreciating the little moments; things I have overlooked when I was in a dark place. My desire to create came back, and I feel like taking new paths. I am aware, however, of the possibility that I may not succeed, and that I can be depressed again. I may even later deny any feelings I have today; I can become a totally different person – and it doesn’t only depend on me, but any event that occurs around me. I can’t promise that I will stay the same because I am a human born to make mistakes. In case I change in the future, the person I am today hopes that those around me would remember the way I am right now; the way a person who has passed would be remembered and cherished – as long as those around me themselves don’t change by then…

	Tweet

 

All content here is © Copyright Mui-Ling Teh, All Rights Reserved, and may not be used without my permission. Any site using my images against my conditions have not sought proper permission and should be reported or brought to my attention immediately.

 

Back to Writings

Back to Portfolio

Back to Homepage