In the garden
Cradling tea
Quiet morning
When suddenly
I saw, without warning:
The Sun.
As one often does
when the day is begun.
Absorbed
By this orb,
unusually soft,
aloft
I was beholding
deeply golden ,
gently glowing.
Silently,it spoke.
Compelling.
Commanding.
Demanding.
It called for my attention.
I held my gaze.
Despite. Perhaps even because
of the haze.
“That which obstructs clarity,”
the wind whispered in my ear,
quickening,
“do not fear”.
“Have faith in things yet to be revealed.
For obscurity in all matters, haze widespread
to be lifted,unveiled.”
“Thy will be done.
Thou art Gold too,
gold like the sun.”
“Believe
the stories told
of lead turned into gold.”
The sun quietly spoke.
Grew brighter
And went its way.
As it does
every day.
The black cat
twisted
contentedly on
the concrete pavement.
Oblivious
to my amazement.
Sarah Joan Mokhtar is a Kuala Lumpur-based cartoonist, writer and illustrator who has worked in comics publishing and the cultural sector since 1998. Mokhtar is the co-founder of Unnamed, a Southeast Asian Comic Artist Collective, and the regional advisor of the Malaysian chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.