The Muruku Murmurations

I was in a long-distance relationship with someone I met during my trip to Australia. It was a fulfilling partnership and the longing was true and deep. There was a sense of emptiness alongside how fulfilling the relationship was. I was very comfortable with being single, not wanting long-term relationships but we both made the exception. At this point after a year, things have been more strained and with the pandemic, it was uncertain of when we would be able to see each other but I was never uncertain with where I stood and hoped for. Wishful thinking has always landed me in displeased situations, I am an optimistic realist but that was not enough. The last time I truly felt like this was when I was in a long-distance relationship back in Russia. History does repeat itself if we do not learn from them and change. I just hope that I don't fall back to the same extremes and finally find some sense of balance in this new decade. As I fall asleep, I clasp my hands with each other, ju...

One surprising thing that happened on my solo trip to Australia last year was meeting a soul of a parallel journey, we had many dispositions that brought us to where we are and designed our perspective on life. I was a convergence that would be a once of a lifetime occurance. Remarkable meets fascinating A journey of two souls in parallel Making decisions that bend the nature of their paths Causing it to coincide with the ways of another Constantly flowing forward.   Rivers from the mountain drifting its way in its course Returning to its route and alternating in between logic and rationale Sliding through intersections of intense emotions Weaving amongst serendipitous, frivolous memories Falling into natural cascades formed over thousands of years of formations.   Where fresh becomes salt What was bland finds tastes in life? Flavours of insignificant minerals that come together to create an ocean of messianic zeal A solution to the desires of longing and wanting A desire that...

This is poem to all the ones that I have loved, some are still in my life and some aren't. There is something comforting about chestnut eyes, the colour of softness, familiarity and gentle eyes. One's that I used to get lost in and when the sunlight illuminates them, its brightness fills my heart with hope.   This love twinkles, in layers of cascading stars that flow down the rivers of the Milky Way, My tears trickle along crow's feet wrinkles, soaked in kindness and acceptance cradled in comfort in the light of day nursing in the forgiveness of the curves of your smile.   There is light in your chestnut eyes Bright as the galaxies formed by countless constellations Flared with resilience and assurance Your presence will last through light years collecting experiences that make you wise Our hearts linked by storylines further than what our eyes can see.   - Swit Marie 0301H 7th June 2019 Hawthorn Manor

I think my spirit animal might be a magpie. We keep things we like, protective over our loved ones and remember people. I could just be a hoarder, haha. I wrote this after taking a walk and saw broken snail shells on the pavement. I saw magpies for the first time when I was on my solo trip to Australia in June 2019.   Walking along pathways; Finding shattered snail shells scattered along the creases of pavements One wonders of life so fragile.   Skipping along memory lane I'll bring you to a magpie's nest Let each of her trinkets sing a tune of a time.   Each note intently. Each pitch directly.   Her treasures picked wisely Kept close to home Where her feathers warm her and her thoughts engulf her.   Pleasing to the eye Each one sparkles and dazzles in the bright light of the living feelings that come with it.   - Swit Marie 0300H 15th June 2019 Kayu Ara

After writing with nature influences, I started using more space references and it has been one of the things that have always fascinated. 2019 has been a good year of writing for me and it is high time I get back into it. Darling mi Amor,   May the morning light recharge you with the might to fight all the way till the night.   May everything work in your favour right from the beginning till the end.   May all your plans take flight, smoothen out every plight and your motivations and passions glimmer bright to pull you through.   May you set your sights on mountains high, course through rivers of the valleys low and dive with waterfalls with determination and strength.   May sunshine line your thoughts like silver linings that never fade, ever shimmering and glimmering around your bright ideas and dreams.   May twilight give to the spur of inspiration you need as you wake into every new day and the stars guide your heart to constellations that you can call...

Prompts from  Makhluk Seni  for WELP, a movement to 'weaponise' love in all forms of expression. Prompts were released throughout the month of February for writers to submit any short form of writing. This is how I love the people that I choose to love. When it is someone I value and cherish, it's all the cards on the table, no games, no regrets. Prompt 25: And that is how I say, ”I love you” And that is how we say "I love you". How do you express your love? Tell us. This Valentine's I would like to love Love you like there is no tomorrow Love you like tomorrow is today Love you like today will not end Love you like the ending is the beginning Love you like it's the beginning of every journey Love you like this journey never stops Love you like stopping is not an option Love you like options are relative Love you like relatives love their favourites Love you like my favourite daydream Love you like dreams are real Love you like real time is relative Love y...

I wrote this piece for Julian, he was a comet that I didn't want to part with. We had a good run together and made our way to being the moon where we met every quarter but we wanted to be the sun that greets us every day. This was the moment. I realised I didn't want this to be fleeting as a comet passing. Not one where the orbit would be an alignment of chance that would only happen once in a lifetime. I wanted this to be a constant like the sunrise, the first light I see embracing the horizon. A seamlessly effortless constant that gives us a chance of recurring happiness. - Swit Marie 0911H 4th August 2019 Byron Bay

Prompts from  Makhluk Seni  for WELP, a movement to 'weaponise' love in all forms of expression. Prompts were released throughout the month of February for writers to submit any short form of writing. Every time I recall what my days will look like if you were my world, I would always go back to this particular memory I had as a child. It would be the view I had sitting by the window pane of a room I imagine I would have if I had my own room, the sounds that ring in the porch as ambient background music and this safe space of a fortress created by sheets and pillows.  Prompt 3 : Our world We create our world through the narratives we write. Each is a story that is left untold. #WELPPACT   #PACT2 Sheer curtains and fairy lights Brings us to a world of ideals Bliss but never ignorance. A sunrise of delight Seeps its rays through each orifice and drifts its way on to the grains of our faces. The furl of windmills dance with the melodic ...

It's Valentine's Day season and there is a ongoing writing prompt campaign by Makhluk Seni. If I were to love unconditionally, this would be the conditions to how I love. I hope that I would be able to love someone with this capacity again as there is so much my heart is ready to give. This Valentine's I would like to love Love you like there is no tomorrow Love you like tomorrow is today Love you like today will not end Love you like the ending is the beginning Love you like it's the beginning of every journey Love you like this journey never stops Love you like stopping is not an option Love you like options are relative Love you like relatives love their favourites Love you like my favourite day dream Love you like dreams are real Love you like real time is relative Love you like thieves desire treasure Love you like treasure in my heart Love you like my heart has no limits Love you like limits mean nothing Love you like nothing can stop hope Love you like a new h...

This piece was written out of a conversation my friend and I had recently about how infatuation and genuine human connection can alter the way we feel, how we treat people and perceive ourselves. We spoke about the synergy that flows in the interaction between each party and the ease in being present with the other person. River of Stolkholm Take my hand and plough me through the wane and ride of the valleys of the shadows Call to me with your current and flow Make my insides call to you to make me whole Stir up the desired lust for your clarity To shine your crystal light unto my path Re-imagine and redefine my curves and ways to match yours in response to your love. - Swit Marie 0951H 12th January 2019 Ang Mo Kio

Intimacy can be in different ways, aside from the physical sense, there is the space for emotional vulnerability and the chance to share the same wavelength and experiences. I was exploring how I would express my desire for intimacy with a person, trying to expand the way I could describe the feeling in that moment when that was all that I wanted. I want a moment Of intimacy Of honesty And transparency Being there as I am No facades No masks No antics No curtains to hide behind My heart beating Frantically Nervously With uncertainty Is it enough to just be? No linen between us Your skin feels like congee garnished with shredded scallops My curves fit in your lines I carefully allow myself to sink in Letting your freckles kiss my moles You place my palm on your sternum Helping my breath rise with yours Slowly exhaling and being present Your warmth welcomes me To stay and be. - Swit Marie 1033H 20th September 2018 Safe Space

This piece was originally written in Malay, then translated to English, French and Russian . It is about a beautiful person and connection I encountered on last year. I had massive amounts of help from good friends of mine, Sylvain, Adelie and Eve. This piece was performed at If Walls Could Talk 's 3rd Anniversary . I miss you thousands of times Listening to your soothing voice whispering in my ear from afar Reminiscing by the seaside Longing for you. Melihat mukamu berkelip di antara bintang-bintang di langit malam sunyi Hatimu berdebar seperti gelombang laut membasah pasir pantai. Сладкие мимолетные воспоминания Твоё лицо нарисовано на моей ладони питает медленно в мою улыбку. La lampe de mon inspiration gardée dans les plis de ma robe avec nos secrets du passé. Tu me manques des millier de fois J’ecoute ton apaisante voix murmurer de si loin au creux de mon oreille Réminisçant au bord de la mer Languissant pour toi. I gaze at your face flic...

A piece about a dream I had about a year ago, still fresh in my memory. Times passes quite quickly, who knows, we may meet again really soon. My head sinks into the curves of your shoulder girdle Your arms blanket my torso My palm resting on your heart Your chest raises into mine Our hearts alternating beats Every pulse quakes my wrist. You beard rustle over my forehead Fingers running through my fridge My lashes brushes against your chest Fingertips lightly grazing my lips Your breath whispers rhythmically into my ears My eyes fall asleep in your assurance eyes closed in your gaze Your cologne lingers in my hair Your scent calms my lungs like Cedarwood on an autumn night. - Swit Marie 0904H 29th April 2018 Taman Bahagia

To my light of inspiration, my firefly that shows up every now and then to give me a glimmer of hope and creativity. When our eyes meet They do not wander elsewhere Your pupils dilate; Just wide enough to permit one Your irides welcomes me Beyond your retinae Into your memories We are the only two in the room Dimly lit Enough light to see your treasure Clasped in our hands Flickering like perched fireflies. - Swit Marie 0658H 19th May 2018 Taman Bahagia

One of those days where I remembered what love felt like and when I was lucky enough to hold it in my hands. Unconditional and unique to that one moment shared by two people. Love is knowing when your heart falls catched by cupped palms when you heart sits comfortably in fingers that will not harm Love is knowing. - Swit Marie 0606H 19th May 2018 Taman Bahagia

#NAPoWriMo2018  #Day20 prompt by Poetry Cafe KL #NaPoWriMo #duet Write a duet poem with another poet about your friendship. Collaborate. You could write about how you met, your first impressions, what you liked or didn’t like about each other, the significance of the relationship to you now. It was a night of dance Strangers became familiar faces became smiles Hugs between bodies turned into warm embraces. My voice caught your attention You were drawn without boundaries possessed by intoxication Surprised by a familiar sound And attracted to a jovial smile. You said you wanted me Not knowing why But you were hell bent On staying in this moment Refusing the odds Stopping time Believing this was perfect. I wanted to write a galaxy of stories Alliterate your voice in my words Your thoughts in my breath And weave you into every sentence To illustrate our universe. You became my world The ground I stand on Where my feet sink into The gl...

I spent most nights of the end of 2017 unable to sleep and pondered about love, fate, chance, uncertainty and how my life could have been different if he had stayed. It is a void when dreams don't come true and the reality I live is truth. This piece was given its title when I contributed this to the Speak City Asia newsletter called 'Tiny Walls'. Take me now on a stroll down memory lane As the sun begins its descend I find you standing there in plain sight Along the horizon of light and shadows where your silhouette is marked In opulent angles The arches of your brow Touches your high cheekbones Lifting your charming smile Deepening those cheeky dimples A carpet along your sleek jawline defining your edges. Your face looks like it has seen much Like the moon that is still visible Pale translucent blue in the afternoon Still present despite the sun already luminating the bright sky Still whistling softly among the swallows that fly Nestled b...

This piece was written during a workshop taught by Melizarani T. Selva , a person who told me that I should be 'workshop-ed' and who better to learn from than the woman herself. She taught me how to write myself into a poem , how to allow people to access me via my poetry but also keeping parts of me that are vulnerable in a safe space. We were given the privilege to use The Violet Flame, Kuala Lumpur where Lupe Parada 's beautiful works were on display. Prompt: In write 14 lines, write about a specific moment in time when you felt the most sincere form of love with this person, be specific about how this person makes you feel and it is a moment that was experienced by you and only you. Describe that moment, expand that moment, use sentences of different lengths. In the midst of winter, 7-ого Января (Sedmova Yanvarya) On 7th of January in the centre of красная площадь (Krasnaya ploshad - Red Square) The people wish, "С днём Рождеством" (S dy...

Valentine's Day had just passed and social media was flooded with all kinds of events, promos, pictures and appreciations . To me, every day should be celebrated between you and your partner or the people to share your life with . What is Valentine's to you? May it be more than just the material things. This is dedicated to those who can't or don't celebrate Valentine's. No. It's not about the flowers; Expensive gifts; fancy dinners, Or dates on tinder. It's about the life you live with one another, The sacrifices you made together, The future you wish To build for each other. It is holding her hand Picking him up Helping him stand Watching her smile Just for a while. It is everyday you give Every time you live Willing to be your best Even when you are a mess And finding rest At peace knowing... This is home. This is you and I. This is what it is. -Swit Marie 02:42H 16th February 2017 Bangsar HQ ...

You came to meet me in dream land again and I loved every moment we had from start till end. Though it was brief, I felt we belonge d. Inspires after reading Jack Malik's Dreamland piece. Close your eyes and sleep away Away into your dreams and stay Stay within those clouds Clouds of dreams away from shadow shrouds. Walk with me Fingers clasped softly, Hand in hand Beside you I will stand. Along pavements of comfort, We stroll without effort Settling into every step we take Considering everything we have a stake. I reach for you a little more Carefully along the lines of your core You look at me and said, "Remember the promise you made?" I nod my chin lightly The corners of my lips lift slightly Take a peek at your face As my feet step in place. Hold my breath as I wait for your reply Unsure if your words will make me cry All you do is let out a sigh Left my thoughts to wonder why. My eyes now open wide Awake because it ...