umbral

i write a poem instead of an entry 
in my diary. it is a forfeiture of one kind
of interiority, the impulse, or prejudice,
of narrative. it is a kind of substitute 
for prayer, the imputed belief that a
day and its woes, decisions, whispers
are a form of dialogue. utterance fades
not into an umbral heartbeat, in this 
edgeland of perpetual glow and shade. 
the foliage refracts the urban waves. it is
quite pleasant, this utilitarian nature 
of trees. the city pretends it is for them:
the mulch, the fungi, and the weeds. 
seas lap the brims of the recovered 
coastlines. smoke rises with petrichor
in the dimming electric lights. laying 
aside the noise, nursing the new and 
familiar aches, i found the clearing 
once again, just for a moment, away
from the burrowing thicket.

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Jonathan Chan is a writer, editor, and translator of poems and essays. He is the author of the poetry collections going home (2022) and bright sorrow (2025) and is based in Singapore. More of his writing can be found at jonbcy.wordpress.com.