Fleeting wisdom
Sparks flash
All known
Enlightened
Light lost
All dark
Bewildered
Eyes cloud
Dense fog
Ignorant
23 Nov 2022
Inspiration
A Legacy to Leave
Empires built and legacies entrusted
success as society defines it
remains the big bold wonders
the kind that gets reported on
the type that makes it to the lists
Yet the longer I think about it
the more I churn it over in my mind
I’ve truly come to believe
and I know this, as I realise
that legacies don’t have to be wondrous
memories don’t have to be grandiose
The most truly memorable gift
worthy of each persons time
would simply be to leave everyone that you meet
a little more lifted than they were
a gentle smile, a hidden wave
a kind word, a lifted heart
9 July 2021
(c) Li-ling Ooi
Colours
And if the world were black and white
would we be more colour blind
to all of the differences among us
would it make the world more kind
And if there were but two colours
would our days be completely droll
or would there still be comparisons
of one superior and the other less so?
4 March 2022
(c) Li-ling Ooi
There is only Us and Us
There is only Us and Us
In a world divided
by skin colours and race
by beliefs and politics
and religions a pace
as man looks around
there is no ‘Them’ against ‘Us’
look closely again
there’s only ‘Us’ and ‘Us’
The politician speaks
‘Let it be known
the other side is guilty
I’m sure it will be shown’
yet as we look closely again
there is no ‘Them’ versus ‘Us’
across land mass and seas
there’s only ‘Us’ and Us
As gripping fears divide
tempers flare and fingers point
they are wrong and we are right
all common sense lost
far across land and sea
there is no ‘Them’ or ‘Us’
beyond mountains and valleys
there’s only ‘Us’ and Us
All for one and one for all
Unite and united
Together we stand
For there is only ever ‘Us’ and Us
30 May 2020
~ Li-ling Ooi
The stories that we tell ourselves
The stories that we tell ourselves
makes us all, of who we are
from the harshest tirades of criticisms
to the gentlest whispers of self-acceptance
each layers upon the who, the what, the why
of all that we become and all that we are
The stories that we tell ourselves
colours entirely, the lives we choose to live
each thought, each word, each action
all impressions, all reflections, all interactions
paints a mark upon our characters
and leaves its trace upon our soul
The stories that we tell ourselves
make us judge our world a little more
from the rights and wrongs we see
through the lenses of our perspectives
to the skirmish, confrontations before us
and the quiet, gentle harmonies we crave
The stories that we tell ourselves
the little voices in our heads
harsh, callous, sarcastic offences
chipping away at our porcelain worth
whispering words of self-judgement
almost always lined with self-hate
The stories that we tell ourselves
should never make us feel unloved
yet for so many, perhaps even all of us
that little voice always says
‘You’ll never be good enough’
‘It’s not even worth a try’
The stories that we tell ourselves
that incorrect judgement of self
that denigrates and disparages,
diminishing all self-worth and value
with little lies of slurs and slight
and larger bouts of abuse and insult
The stories that we tell ourselves
should buoy us up, not tear us down
each should be a monologue of kindness
a homily of compassion, a soliloquy of love
a kinder, gentler way of speaking
to all the loving that is you
5 July 2019
(c) Li-ling Ooi
