TILTING OUR PLATES TO CATCH OUR LIGHT

TILTING OUR PLATES TO CATCH THE LIGHT
poems by Cyril Wong
published by Math Paper Press

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Cyril Wong’s latest collection of poems brings into play his background in music. Reminiscent of a concerto, an orchestra is invoked by poems that celebrate the lives of lovers distant and near, while a single narrative arises like a solo instrument amidst their chords, often blurring a distinction between the universal and the particular. This narrative is a love story that pierces through the shadow of the inevitable, accompanied by dreams and a re-interpretation of the myth of Shiva and Mohini, the fascinating female-incarnation of Vishnu. Interwoven with the motifs of time and death, these poems segue into each other like movements in a symphony, singing of equal parts tragedy and joy.