In honour of Merdeka day, I'm posting a poem I wrote for cultural diversity for a school as a favour for a friend, sometime ago.
I isn't technically patriotic, but hey, national spirit and world cultural diversity go hand in hand, don't they?
A red hibiscus sprouts
In scarlet glory in East Malaysia,
A cherry blossom blooms beautifully
In Japan's rooted trees,
A colourful collection of orchids grow in floral fantasia west of Hawaii,
A field of tulips flourish in rows on the countryside of Holland
Beautiful these flowers do grow,
Though different,
All are magnificent,
As they sway with the wind to and fro
People all across the oceans,
Are different in our notions,
And beliefs and cultures and motions,
But are all beautiful and unique creations
Like flowers, we differ
In the way each of our petals are arranged
In the way our colours shine under the sun
In the way our leaves sway in the breeze
There is strength and wonder,
In our cultural diversity,
We should not be put asunder,
But instead band together to overcome adversity
We stand uniquely as different colours
But stand united as one
Meeting at an intersecting point
An array of colours through a prism
The flash of a kimono's silk in the sun
The billowing of a baju kurung and
The sanguine sway of the saree in the wind
The clanking of clogs near the windmill
Greetings are exchanged in every corner
Each with a different lilt and intonation
Konichiwa, howdy, how d'you do,
Bonjour, aloha, ahlan wasahlan
The swaying coconut trees of Hawaii welcome your stay
The sun kissed sand softens as you cross Saudi Arabia
The snowflakes of Switzerland land gently on your skin a surprise
The smell of croissant greet you as you arrive in France
Diversity extends its hand in all places
Malaysia is no exception
Its sundry and colourful collection of people
Rejoicing in indifference at their differences
Diversity runs in its entirety in Malaysia
Where one may find delicious dishes
In every turn
Nasi Lemak in one stall, muruku in another
The smells of Indian spices mix with the sleek aroma of Chinese delicacies
The Malay gerai serve national tastes influenced by
Hands of friends of mixed ethnicities
Cultural diversity lives where it is made allowed to
So hand in hand do we join
Putting aside our differences and embrace our diversity
In love and longevity.
I isn't technically patriotic, but hey, national spirit and world cultural diversity go hand in hand, don't they?
A red hibiscus sprouts
In scarlet glory in East Malaysia,
A cherry blossom blooms beautifully
In Japan's rooted trees,
A colourful collection of orchids grow in floral fantasia west of Hawaii,
A field of tulips flourish in rows on the countryside of Holland
Though different,
All are magnificent,
As they sway with the wind to and fro
Are different in our notions,
And beliefs and cultures and motions,
But are all beautiful and unique creations
In the way each of our petals are arranged
In the way our colours shine under the sun
In the way our leaves sway in the breeze
In our cultural diversity,
We should not be put asunder,
But instead band together to overcome adversity
But stand united as one
Meeting at an intersecting point
An array of colours through a prism
The billowing of a baju kurung and
The sanguine sway of the saree in the wind
The clanking of clogs near the windmill
Each with a different lilt and intonation
Konichiwa, howdy, how d'you do,
Bonjour, aloha, ahlan wasahlan
The sun kissed sand softens as you cross Saudi Arabia
The snowflakes of Switzerland land gently on your skin a surprise
The smell of croissant greet you as you arrive in France
Diversity extends its hand in all places
Malaysia is no exception
Its sundry and colourful collection of people
Rejoicing in indifference at their differences
Where one may find delicious dishes
In every turn
Nasi Lemak in one stall, muruku in another
The Malay gerai serve national tastes influenced by
Hands of friends of mixed ethnicities
Cultural diversity lives where it is made allowed to
So hand in hand do we join
Putting aside our differences and embrace our diversity
In love and longevity.
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