Don't wait for me

I return to that land we once played as twenty-somethings,

I call you and we catch up like we were riding on a Tangara from Redfern to the city,

I listen to your wise voice until it becomes water

Teardrops for all of the love stories we co-starred

Scratch beneath the surface more and more you tell me you are married now 

We are not defined by our decisions as the youth we once were, are we?

So what are the moments that define who we truly are?

Crumbles leave a trail of memories

They remain in the very small of our minds

Beyond the reach of others outside of your inner circle

Two have we but it's oK 

Not every moment lived is one that needs telling

Then there's this song

A song most played in happy times as a group of friends revel in sameness

But it's hardly played today except on special occasions like your wake

Adieu, Louise, ride that special carpet

Don't wait for me.

Closer to Fine 

Listen on Spotify

[Verse 1]
I'm tryin' to tell you somethin' 'bout my life
Maybe give me insight between black and white
And the best thing you ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously
It's only life after all, yeah

[Verse 2]
Well, darkness has a hunger that's insatiable
And lightness has a call that's hard to hear
And I wrap my fear around me like a blanket
I sailed my ship of safety until I sank it
I'm crawling on your shores

[Chorus]
And I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains
There's more than one answer to these questions
Pointing me in a crooked line
And the less I seek my source for some definitive
(The less I seek my source)
Closer I am to fine, yeah
Closer I am to fine, yeah

[Verse 3]
And I went to see the doctor of philosophy
With a poster of Rasputin and a beard down to his knee
He never did marry or see a B-grade movie
He graded my performance, he said he could see through me
I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind
Got my paper, and I was free
[Chorus]
And I went to the doctor (Woo!) I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains
There's more than one answer to these questions
Pointing me in a crooked line
And the less I seek my source for some definitive
(The less I seek my source)
Closer I am to fine, yeah
Closer I am to fine, yeah

[Bridge]
I stopped by the bar at 3 a.m.
To seek solace in a bottle, or possibly a friend
And I woke up with a headache like my head against a board
Twice as cloudy as I'd been the night before
When I went in seeking clarity

[Chorus]
And I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
We go to the doctor, we go to the mountains
And we look to the children, and we drink from the fountain
Yeah, we go to the Bible, and we go through the workout
And we read up on revival, and we stand up for the lookout
There's more than one answer to these questions
Pointing me in a crooked line
And the less I seek my source for some definitive
(The less I seek my source)
Closer I am to fine
Closer I am to fine
Closer I am to fine, yeah

Vous faites la guerre à des enfants -- Souad Massi

This International Women's Day, I stand with my sisters and brothers and #breakthebias. We celebrate ALL women. We are so many, so diverse, so talented, we need equal opportunities in governments, think taks, finance, arts, stem, so stop faite la guerre a des enfants, start negotiations, talking fiction or fact, talk it out, but put weapons of extensions of bolshoi ego and self aside. Make peace. No war.

"كلمات سعاد ماسي "بلادي

Paroles de Souad Massi "Bladi"
Lyrics by Souad Massi "Bladi"

[المقطع الأول]
بلادي أنا فيك لي عشت وكبرت
بلادي أنا بيك لي كل شي فهمت
بلادي أنا فيك شحال من حاجة حبيت
بلادي على جلك شحال من مرة بكيت

[اللازمة] (x2)
La terre est devenue un enfer
Le feu a brûlé le printemps
Arrêtez de faire la guerre
Vous faites la guerre à des enfants
Il n'en restera que la vérité

The earth has become hell 

The fire burned in the spring 

Stop waging war 

You are waging war on children 

Only the truth will remain.

غير الصح، غير الصح
غير الصح، غير الصح

[المقطع الثاني]
بلادي حالتك تقطع القلب
بلادي اتحدّى المحال فيك استعجب
بلادي ما تبقى والنار غير رماد
بلادي ما يبقىاوغير الاحجار في الواد

[اللازمة] (x2)
La Terre est devenue un enfer
Le feu a brûlé le printemps
Arrêtez de faire la guerre
Vous faites la guerre à des enfants
Il n'en restera que la vérité

The Earth has become hell 

The fire burned in the spring 

Stop waging war 

You are waging war on children 

Only the truth will remain.

So I listened to my heart and this is what happened!

On International Women's Day this year, I finally made a resolution to utilise my newly learnt skill ( I had a year's training in podcasting and podcast production ) and put it into good use. So I worked on the project, solo for now, and I honestly do hope that I'll be able to sustain and grow this into a non-profit organisation of its own to be handed down for generations to come.

Back in 2005, I had an idea to create an audio book, a collection of poetry readings by women. It was to be named rooms... and if you can imagine a live set, think Rent the Musical, an apartment block with windows facing the audience, and through each window, there sits a woman reading her poetry. And the lighting magic shines in from one window to another. Gosh! Could this really come alive one day as a live production? One day.

I listened to my heart and just went for it. I just feel this is a project that is true, that needs to be done, and I'm pouring myself into it. Plus, in these pandemic times, while holed in an apartment, these things seem possible. My list of interview subjects is growing. I have 99 seasons to produce, one season for one amazing woman with stories to share. I am the 100th, and I started with myself! I recorded my own poetry, and I recorded conversations with mum. I've just released Season Two: Dr. Ann Lee, an award-winning playwright and researcher who's of mixed parentage; her mother is Hakka-Chinese and her father is from Manchester. We recorded the interview in a studio in Sydney, via Zoom.

I just went all in with my heart and still am in awe at myself that it's done! Seriously! I can only hope and work hard to improve, I promise you I'll be doing that. Feel free to drop your comments below if you have any questions and if you'd like to cheer me on, click through to the official website and find out how you can support this project. I hope you'll enjoy this season with Ann Lee. Thank YOU!

Listen by Heart Podcast

Listen via the Website | Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Player.FM | iHeartRadio

THE MAGPIES by Denis Glover, read by Jasmine Low

The Magpies is one of the most well-known poems, depicting the everlasting and unchanging Magpie call (nature) as life happens (passage of time). It was written in only six stanzas by New Zealand poet, printer, publisher, satirist, sailor and boxer Denis Glover (1912-1980). And here's the most famous, benign line that seems so simple and yet time withstanding: -- "And Quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle/The magpies said," -- The Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) is a black and white chesty bird native to Australia and New Guinea. Famous for their vocalisations that mimic the environment, Jasmine was targeted three consecutive times and was 'swooped' on her head while walking past a street in Zetland, NSW. When she recorded this from her mother's balcony in Sydney, there was surely a commotion, magpies were congregating from one tree then to another. What a loud and busy affair it was! The Magpies is read by Jasmine Low as a tribute to the nation, Australia, one of the luckiest countries in the world, her second home. She is neither native to the other land she calls home, Malaysia, but that is still her Motherland. The land where her mother and her mother's mother were born, bred and lived. They were the Nanyang Chinese who immigrated at the turn of the 20th century in search of a new home. As a fourth generation Malaysian Chinese now living in Australia, IDENTITY has been a lifelong quest. No land welcomes her home except in the quiet of her heart. Even there, appears a conflict of duality where an all-serving filial piety native meets a braver Mulan-like idealistic artist. Who wins? Not her but the Magpie will keep its calling true. Official podcast website: https://listenbyheartpodcast.wordpres... Also streaming on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | wherever you get your podcasts. Search for "Listen by Heart: Voices from the Women of the South China Seas" published by GoJasmineLow. Read the full poem: https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~tf/poem1... Listen to a Paul Kelly version of this as a song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-Xja... Experiential journeys begin at www.jasminelow.com

Earth Day 2021 in the new normal, heat waves and an Oxford guy named Dave Bayley

Parking this just because this version by Dave Bayley is so good. British Oxford band makes beautiful music and a pretty sick website too! Check it out: https://opensource.glassanimals.com/

(Don't stop, baby, you can go on through

(Don't want, baby, think about you) (You know that I'm never gonna lose) Road shimmer Wiggling the vision Heat heat waves I'm swimming in a mirror Road shimmer Wiggling the vision Heat heat waves I'm swimming in a Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now Usually I put Something on TV So we never think About you and me But today I see Our reflections Clearly in Hollywood Laying on the screen You just need a better life than this You need something I can never give Fake water all across the road It's gone now the night has come but Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now You can't fight it You can't breathe You say something so loving but Now I've got to let you go You'll be better off in someone new I don't wanna be alone You know it hurts me too You look so broken when you cry One more and then I'll say goodbye Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now I just wonder what you're dreaming of When you sleep and smile so comfortable I just wish that I could give you that That look that's perfectly unsad Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Heat waves been faking me out Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now Sometimes, all I think about is you Late nights in the middle of June Heat waves been faking me out Can't make you happier now Road shimmer Wiggling the vision Heat heat waves I'm swimming in a mirror Road shimmer Wiggling the vision Heat heat waves I'm swimming in a mirror #GlassAnimals​ #Heat​ Waves #DREAMLAND

LISTEN BY HEART: Stories from the women of the South China Seas

Celebrating International Women's Day 2021 with WORD action! #ChoosetoChallenge #IWD2021 #IWDPoetry

Open call to women of Southeast Asian heritage to submit poetry & short stories to be featured in a podcast. 

From 2003-2012, I was actively writing, performing spoken word poetry and organising poetry & music gigs in the Kuala Lumpur circuit. Together with Jerome Kugan, Sabahan singer songwriter and then editor of a lifestyle magazine KLUE, we formed Wayang Kata in collaboration with the British Council Malaysia and Apples & Snakes UK to showcase performance poetry. Those were great days of unraveling stories from so many interesting layers of society and cultures. 

girlgungho · Jasmine Low does "Spoken Word"

I had an idea back in 2006-2007 to collect and curate stories in the form of poetry, song and short stories for an audio book titled ROOMS. I recorded two original performance poetry pieces I wrote - one was performed at The Actors' Studio Bangsar and the other was a gig - you're listening to a younger me. I collected a few recordings from women writers and poets, but never published it. That idea never left me, it was always there, just waiting for the right time and I think this year may be the right time to bring it alive. 

So in conjunction with International Women's Day this year and their tagline #ChoosetoChallenge for spoken word poets, this one's for all of you ladies! Read more on IWD 2021...

And who has inspired all of this, I suspect? A young lady by the name of Amanda Gorman at the inauguration of Joe Biden as President & Kamala Harris as Vice President of the United States of America.

So here goes... This is an open call to women of Southeast Asian heritage, no matter where you're living now. I'd love to hear your stories and if you'd like to be featured on my podcast, LISTEN BY HEART: Voices of the women of the South China Seas, drop me a email at jasminelow@jasminelow.com.  It's my hope and desire to turn this project into an open source archive for women of Southeast Asian heritage to share their stories.

I will get the ball rolling with my own stories, readings of poems and interviews with mum in the first season of the podcast. It'll be an ongoing work-in-progress and you can listen to it here: listenbyheart.webprojx.com.

Thank you and please subscribe to the podcast for updates. 

Chicks in the farm

Behold the egg yolk... so innovative has mankind become that cows now lactate more than ever to support a billion dollar industry, hens lay eggs in cages, fish & prawns multiply in farms fed with pre-mixed feed, pigs & cows fed with corn and gallons of red wine just so they taste better, even plants aren't spared. And you'd think, what would they do to those humans that are meant to spend a lifetime earning a living in the city just so they can head over to the corporation-owned stores and pick up food, wine, entertainment and be merry. Leave the farm work and the culling to the big wigs now. Leave the farms, and the land. You'd rather be in the city, and make money and a name for yourself. Leave a legacy. Build a family. Live your dream. And that cycle continued until mankind served its purpose of being the slave to His Master's Voice. They even believed the lyrics in that hit Avichii track. But it was that little girl in that school uniform, performing the science experiment that wakes them all up from that dream and she reminds them... hey, chick, bet you didn't sign up for this! Go, live your life! And the chick runs around the lab, thinking that girl who saved her life was her Mother, only to be rudely awakened from her tiny yellow dream that it all began with an egg, yo! It was never about the chicken. It was the egg, who came first, for she never knew she had a Mother. 🐣 The (dystopian) end. 

#faction #fact #fiction #wakeup