Introduction
Speak not, lie hidden, and conceal
the way you dream, the things you feel.
Deep in your spirit let them rise
akin to stars in crystal skies
that set before the night is blurred:
delight in them and speak no word.
How can a heart expression find?
How should another know your mind?
Will he discern what quickens you?
A thought once uttered is untrue.
Dimmed is the fountainhead when stirred:
drink at the source and speak no word.
Live in your inner self alone
within your soul a world has grown,
the magic of veiled thoughts that might
be blinded by the outer light,
drowned in the noise of day, unheard...
take in their song and speak no word.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Gareth used to prefer funerals to weddings. He said it was easier to get enthusiastic about a ceremony one had an outside chance of eventually being involved in. In order to prepare this speech, I rang a few people, to get a general picture of how Gareth was regarded by those who met him. Terribly rude rang a lot of bells. On the other hand, some of you have been kind enough to ring me and let me know that you loved him, which I know he would have been thrilled to hear. You remember his fabulous hospitality, his strange experimental cooking. The recipe for "Duck à la Banana" fortunately goes with him to his grave.
Most of all, you tell me of his enormous capacity for joy. When joyful, when joyful for highly vocal drunkenness. But I hope joyful is how you will remember him. Not stuck in a box in a church. Pick your favourite of his waistcoats and remember him that way. The most splendid, replete, big-hearted, weak-hearted as it turned out, and jolly bugger most of us ever met. As for me, you may ask how I will remember him, what I thought of him. Unfortunately there I run out of words. Perhaps you will forgive me if I turn from my own feelings to the words of another splendid bugger: W.H. Auden. This is actually what I want to say:
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let the aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'.
Put crepe bows 'round the white necks of the public doves,
Let traffic policemen wear black, cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East, and West.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good."
- FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL
The End
1:22 pm
UHHHH.
I just woke up and I feel like a thousand anvils just plunged into my body, don't ask why. Having a week of disastrous exams and walking around orchard as if the world's gonna end the next day IS NO GOOD. Especially when you are going to orchard again the next day with two EXCITING people :D! It's raining again, it's as if the world is crying for the disaster that my exams were! ><
Ah, yesterday was just damn fun. :D
All thanks to some WONDERFUL people, listening to a certain few words will now never fail to make me smile:
1) FAR EAST PLAZA (which we didn't go to at all in the end)
2) Sweet Valley High (what in the world were you thinking, serene?)
3) Mango dessert thingum [which peixian the Velociraptor practically downed all by herself with sparse help from us (oh, facebook says I am a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and I disagree. I think I am a Quetzalcoatlus (:]
4) HK cafe (love the booths and felt like puking so many times because stooopid sara made laugh like some goon!)
5) Looking at the House Bunny trailer at Lido! Haha, everything about the trailer wants to make me laugh (thank you PX for reminding! :D)
HAHA, thinking about the kindred spirits I have makes me feel jubilant! Whether it's someone from the now dissolved lttr, class, dance, PB, SLN or a simply random friend, I feel truly blessed for being surrounded by such amazing people. THANK YOU THANK YOU!
AND.
Watching Bones and How I Met Your Mother after God-knows-how-long was LEGEND-waitforit-DARY (credits to Barney Stinson)! Haha, watching bones made me smile (watched the same awesome episode like 3 times) and HIMYM made me laugh so much!
Barney (who is FINALLY in love): I left her a voicemail.
Lily: Well, you left a voice but it wasn't very male. (Haha, and saying it in her self-righteous kindergarten teacher way was just plain funny! :D)
OHOHOH and OH, I borrowed Mercy from Bishan library and just realised, once I am done with it, I would have finished reading ALL the JP's books. I cannot wait to read Jeffrey Archer's new book (Prisoner of Birth). My lost-lost friend from SMPS says its awesome! haha
ANDANDAND, can't wait for today despite the fact that I am aching all over. BHUVAN BHUVAN, I am facing a dilemma and you are going to shed some of your non-existent wisdom to the matter. :P
PRAYERS:
1) Divya, Bhuvan, Peixian, Sara, Serene and myself WILL NOT get retained next year.
2) Vaishnavi Sairaj will not get sent back to India and despite all the odds, she will get an average of C and above and prove her stupid instinct wrong.
3) PW, the bane of my existence, will be over. SOON. PLEASE.
Acknowledgements:
1) Mr Arumugam Ardhanari for having some faith in me no matter what and amazing me by the fact that he thinks so much like me!
2) Mrs Devasena Ardhanari, for making me feel like the worst daughter any parent can ever have and instilling so much negativity in me (I know you don't mean to but I really hope I have a better relationship with you in the near future ><)
3) Gregory Pek Xiang Wen and Quah Pern Jie, for truly allowing me to reap the benefits of PW. Because of the two of them, I have learnt what the true meaning of patience is and I have actually acquired immense tolerance (I hope to think so.).
4) Chia Pei Xian and Koh Zheng Ning, for making my learning curve of patience less steep and giving me some faith and perspective and making sure that our WR was not as rotten as it could have been.
The End
9:38 am
