And now I can see you in my head,
making your way to me across the yard,
the slowness baffling me,
as I am asking to play a while longer in school.
'Neng kat' as we called it back then,
words that continually amused you,
for how different this child was learning her Hokkien,
far from ancestral Penang roots.
If I stay quiet long enough,
I can hear the tinkle of that old melody you play,
black notes that impressed me as a child,
rightful key learnt in my youth.
And you are whole in my head,
white hairnet in place,
gold chain belt holding up the 'mua' around your waist,
nothing like the shell that's left behind now.
You've been wanting this end long enough,
desire that has come now you have let go of it,
just like I've always known it would,
yet couldn't cruelly tell you so.
R.I.P. Ah Mah
