Simpang
Canterbury 5.7.2004


Of all the words I remember of the two languages
closest to my heart, I think it is the word Simpang

that has continued to endear itself to me:
Simpang Renggam, that small town where

two train tracks met, one of the many towns
I learnt about of the geography of my country

from my father’s car window. Later, simpang hati
took on a more nebulous meaning than when

it was first learnt and affirmed — strange junctures
of the heart no textbook could ever reveal.