Poet of a Decade

By Sylvester Wong

Dearly Beloved,

How are you?

I finally met you again. Isn’t

it funny?

We were ten when I sent you the first letter, and even now, I am still writing to you.

Well, I managed to retrieve the letters I have sent you over the last ten years from

your room.

Not to worry, I will be sending them to you again along with this letter.

I will first send you the ones that contain some of your favourite poems, okay?

Yes, you will see some new ones that you never got to receive before – I got them

back from the post office, so I hope you get to read them this time.

Again, don’t worry. Now that I understand everything, I am not looking for a reply

anymore.

With Love, dork.

12/5/2014

PS: Sorry for worrying you all this time, you must have been particularly

frustrated.

10

Dear Sarah,

Hi. My name is Charles.

I think you don’t know me.

I sitting two seats behind you.

I hear from Mary you like poem.

I wrote this for you in afternoon class. Can I

see you in the school garden later?

Roses are Red, Violets

are Blue,

I wrote this in noon, and

I hope to see you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

Charles.

07/2/2004

10

Dear Sarah,

Hello, you remember me?

I am Charles from the last year’s class!

I know you have a bad impression of me. I

remember you like poems?

This is for you.

Never met a girl like you,

I know I am not cute or cool, but I

think we could still be friends,

and I hope you think so too.

Yours Sincerely,

Charles.

05/3/2005

10

Dear Sarah,

I heard you have been calling me a dork because I wrote those stupid things for you.

Dude, I think you need to understand that I was just kidding, okay. It’s not

like I like you or anything.

I believe you have mistaken,

Love is a sweet emotion, You

probably want it often,

Still, don’t lie just for attention.

WITHOUT Regards,

Charles.

03/11/2006

PS: Don’t let me catch you calling me a dork again. I hope you go to a different high

school.

10

Dear Sarah,

Hey. Fancy seeing you here.

Quite a surprise to have you transfer into my school so suddenly. Don’t

worry, the people here are nice.

I won’t ask what happened or why it did, just remember to smile. I will

show you around.

I see your fears,

and the tears in your eyes, it’s

easier to cry,

and drop your disguise.

This dork will try in vain, to

help you forget your pain,

all in an attempt,

to see you smile again.

Regards, dork.

11/05/2007

PS: Good to see you again. It’s okay if you start telling the class stupid things about

me when you have settled in a little bit more.

PPS: Hey, just asking … but did you read the first word of every phrase in the poem I

sent you last year?

10

Dear Sarah,

Wow, I don’t know what to say.

Thank you SO much for the birthday present. I honestly didn't expect it, and thank

you for being the sweetest friend I ever had. It’s almost amusing to think about the

past. I think we both changed a lot since then, huh?

Still, I am just happy that you are smiling again. You are the prettiest when you

smile, and I don’t mean you are not pretty when you are not smiling, I mean like

you are just prett- okay, never mind. You get the idea.

ANYWAY, here is a little something for you.

Never met a girl so fine,

I can’t keep you off my mind,

I promise to give you all my time, So

Sarah, won’t you please be mine?

Fret not, this is fiction.

A depiction of a mirrored world, I

may be allured before,

but never again will I fall.

… I think?

Haha, you know what? I think I am going to take literature class next year. After

all, I seem to write poems a lot. Uh, they are not just for you. I totally send it to a

lot of other girls too. Yeah. You are taking science, right?

Regards, dork

25/08/2008

PS: I will see you around in the canteen next year!

10

To my NOT so dear silly friend,

Okay, for starters, I never really got around asking … but why are you in my class!?

Also, how did you best me in literature?

I am supposed to be the melancholic, heartbroken poet here that woos the hearts of

ladies with a simple stroke of a pen.

No seriously, why are you not in science? No

chemistry?

Get it?

Okay. Anyway, I made a deal with the devil (because I am cool like that) that if I ever

see you in the same class again, I will gather my courage and probably get myself

smack across the face, but here goes.

I could express myself with simple words,

Feat.

You still look the taste of custard, Sweet.

I still am the persistence in the garden, Weed.

So, I will tell you the same three words,

Repeat.

I love you.

Yours Ever Sincerely, dork.

17/03/2009

10

Dearly Beloved,

It’s okay. I know it’s a difficult time for the both of us. It’s really okay. It

will be okay.

Yes, I understand you are moving away again. No, it

isn't easy for me.

Don’t worry, we will still be together.

We can always talk online, right?

I promise to visit if I ever get the chance. I will still write to you, you know I will.

Our love can work through this.

I know you are doing your best to be strong, and I saw how you bit your lips when

you told me this news. I know you are afraid that we may drift part, but trust me, my

love for you has been forged through years and thus – it is unbreakable … through

any force, let alone mere distance.

Fragile flowers Bloom

the brightest,

Through raging storms, and

harsh weathers.

Fragile flowers, A

symbol of love,

A teacher of resilience, Whose

values we will learn.

Fragile flowers, Never

falter,

Us two can too, Perform

same wonders.

With Love,

dork.

01/01/2010

PS: Happy New Year, sweetheart.

10

Dearly Beloved,

How have you been?

I don’t see you online as much anymore – is your dad still moving you around the

cities?

I understand that you may not be able to go online anymore, so don’t fret – it’s fine,

I promise.

Just remember to write me a letter every time you shift, so I will know which new

address to send my letters to.

I tried sending you two to three letters every week, but a few letters got bounced

back, so I assume there are quite a few of them you didn't receive – though I am not

sure which.

Thankfully, I received the reply from you yesterday, and now I know where your new

address is.

So, don’t blame your daddy, alright?

I am sure he is busy and has enough on his plate to keep him occupied. He

wouldn't trouble the family that much otherwise, right?

I am fine, on the other hand. Though my mum said visiting Europe will be expensive,

and you know how it is in my family … don’t worry though. I will save up, one day; I

will get there, just hold on tight.

Remember the park we used to walk through after school?

The same park where we shared our first kiss? I walked through it today despite

avoiding it for ages.

It was difficult with all the echoes of our past in my mind … but inspirations hit – and

I dedicate this to you.

Absent presence,

Horrid silence,

Seeking semblance, of

our fragments.

A stroke of luck, The

day was windy,

10

I found surety

along with familiarity.

Gentle, warm breeze, your

caresses it mimicked.

Fragrance of pollen,

your scent it carried.

Pink petals on flowers, your

lips it copied.

I was never in solitude,

For you are the beauty nature pursued, and

thus in essence,

Nature’s beauty is an expression of you.

With Love,

dork.

13/6/2011

PS: I wrote that on a fly, so cut me some slack, alright?

PPS: I wrote a different poem for a competition, I will let you know how it turns out.

It’s a rendition of Red Riding Hood. Bet you are excited.

10

Dearly Beloved,

Was it something I said in one of those letters that I wrote?

You stopped replying to my letters, and you are never online anymore.

I remember you told me ever since you moved to Europe; you have been transferring

from school to school a lot, so how is that going?

Have you settled in a place yet?

You didn't have many friends then, have you found any now?

Sweetheart, if it is something that I said that flared you up, I promise I am a hundred

percent apologetic and it DEFINITELY isn't intentional.

You could tell me which letter it is and what the content was, I swear I won’t ever do

it again.

I will be waiting for your reply. Please

get back to me, alright? Please.

I need you here, to

erase my fears,

for danger lurks so near,

in things that seems so mere.

This is killing my will, You

are all that I hold dear,

No longer can I cheer, until

I am clear.

For this looming uncertainty,

creates such anxiety that

makes me plea,

for a chance to be free.

I can’t think, darling.

I don’t know what’s going on. There

are so many doubts.

10

10

Have you met someone new? Was it

something I said?

Is it because you are starting to be tired of this relationship? Do you

need me to be … there?

I have saved up enough, sweetheart. I did.

The poetry I sent in won a prize, I have enough to visit you now – all I need to know

is your address.

Please.

With Love,

dork.

16/11/2011

10

Dearly Beloved,

Cupid’s arrow,

sinks deeper.

Vampirism bestowed, grows

stronger.

Incessant yearning,

sleepless nights.

Asphyxiated,

waiting for death.

Love, Charles.

14/9/2012

10

To you that I miss,

It’s your birthday again.

I went to Europe last month alone. I

couldn't find you.

I visited the post office; I was returned a lot of our letters that you never got to you.

Surprise to receive a letter from Europe when I got back … yes, it was from your

father.

He found out about us, and he spoke to me about you. I

finally understand.

Don’t worry though. I know where to find you now. Oh,

by the way … happy birthday.

I can hear you asking: “when?” Trust

me, my love for you will never end.

Age of ten,

I loved you then.

Age of nineteen, Marriage

is still my intent.

Love, Charles.

13/10/2013

10

Dearly Beloved,

How are you?

I finally met you again. Isn't

it funny?

We were ten when I sent you the first letter, and even now, I am still writing to you.

Well, I managed to retrieve the letters I have sent you over the last ten years from

your room.

Not to worry, I will be sending them to you again along with this letter.

I will first send you the ones that contain some of your favourite poems, okay?

Yes, you will see some new ones that you never got to receive before – I got them

back from the post office, so I hope you get to read them this time.

Again, don’t worry. Now that I understand everything, I am not looking for a reply

anymore.

Roses are Red, Violets

are Blue,

They shall lay by your grave,

Right here with you.

I still stayed true,

in this ten years of woo, yet, I

was a fool

for you loved me till the end too.

The doctors said you couldn't be saved, and

that you had been really brave.

So here I stand with a smile and a wave,

and a poem that I wrote with hopes that you crave.

Dearly beloved, you

are sorely missed.

So forgive my tear stains, For I

hope to see you again.

10

With Love,

dork.

12/5/2014

PS: Sorry for worrying you all this time, you must have been particularly frustrated

By Sylvester Wong