The 'Me' in Memory / Jean Cheung

i wait for three more minutes to hit the snooze at 7:16

(i dreamed about you and me, you or me)

i wait for the tap water to refill my glass cup
(you prefer a cup of jasmine tea to cappuccino
you said it calms you down while you walk up to that
financial center)
i wait for the lift to reach my floor
(i don't remember the last time you came by taxi
maybe it is that one with the slimming beauty ad)
i wait for the couple in front of me to get out
(i think they live next-door, but maybe next-next door
you said claustrophobia is not a good thing)

i ask you what it feels like to wait
(please don't mention about that elevator
that runs from the mtr to the upscale
we met before that film was out
before the unwinding time in lan kwai fong
try to remember)
you tell me, "it has to do with delaying moments,
like in kar-wai's films, remember?
from buenos aires to taipei to siem reap to our home..."

and as captive, i continue to wait for the time
for the city to turn into an island
when the sun will set only for you and your significant other
but if you will at least listen to me
waiting to wait is not nostalgia
lost you are in your incessant asking of my memory
there is no single flashback in the first place
for the present has no revival
and so i begin to wonder how
much time waiting consumes.

"i brought you your favorite cha siu bao's for breakfast."

no, i already told you i prefer abalone.
your forgetfulness again proves how
much i will wait to take a break, from you, fast,
as you re-move the me in memory.

Painting and poem by Jean Cheung 2007.

Jean is a student from CLIT2028 The City as Cultural Text 2007-2008 first semester.