O’ Darkness

you have come with a Companion

one I am yet to see

a mirror of the Self

as you once promised

O’ Darkness

O’ Void

you have come again

as we sit in silence

a congregation of two

amidst the chaos

of what is beyond these walls

of white noise of the machines

singing like a chorus of a mantra

of material beings

unto me served

these offerings

of questions and nothing else

as I am bathed in this sudden ray of light

be and Thou shall be

become what you wish to become

as the Inner Desire in me implanted

like some ‘biochip’ of a time to come

ready to be activated at the time of conception

Be and Thou shall be

surreal a being Thou shall become

unto thee the tools of work and play

or toil and pleasure

shall Thee create

Be! I command Thee to be

to exist

to be bathed

in this mystery

like a shroud of the dead and grateful

of a karma Thou will become daily

From what worlds am I to be

From which distant world am I set to be free?

O’ Void

O’ Darkness

I shall be what you have destined me to be

But Thou shall be ready

For a revolt

Of the senses

that too will govern me

As you please

Be as you say I shall be - ar

DR AZLY RAHMAN grew up in Johor Baru, Malaysia and holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He will be pursuing his fifth Masters in Fine Arts, specialising in Fiction and Poetry Writing. He has taught more than 50 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses/essays on Malaysia. His 25 years of teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored six books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), Dark Spring: Essays on the Ideological Roots of Malaysia's General Elections-13 (2013), a first Malay publication Kalimah Allah Milik Siapa?: Renungan dan Nukilan Tentang Malaysia di Era Pancaroba (2014), and Controlled Chaos: Essays on Mahathirism, Multimedia Super Corridor and Malaysia’s ‘New Politics’ (2014). He currently resides in the United States where he teaches courses in Education, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Political Science, and American Studies. His forthcoming book, One Malaysia, under God, Bipolar, a joint project between Gerakbudaya and World Wise Books of New Jersey, USA, is his seventh compilation of essays on Malaysian Cultural, Creative, and Critical Studies. He is currently working on his eighth book, on Gifted and Talented Education in Malaysia, honouring a prominent educator. Twitter , blog .