Pronouns, Pathetically yours

Pronouns, pathetically yours ...
by Azly Rahman

Sitting in my garden under a flame of the forest today
I close my eyes

Autumn breeze so refreshing
I am at the mercy of the the beauteous rays of sunlight
so warm as if love is in every speck of light
bathing me with my eyes closed, my soul scattered in the universe
Three wind chimes surrounded me
One made of steel
One made of wood
One made of bamboo
together -- music so magnificent they made
Three winds of culture blew into my slumber
as i think of pronouns in a land I once knew

why did god in scriptures speak in shifting pronouns?
ahh .. i thought ... not an important thought at this moment
i was as if like a dry autumn leave blown to a land yonder
as i asked with eyes still closed

if i meet an ancient malay king
will i use to pronoun "patik"
when i feel it sounds like "pathetically yours"
or will addressing them and their monopolized status divinely-sanctioned with a "you and I' will suffice?
i suppose i have the answer: "patik" or "pathetically yours" will not go
as i think the word "beta" as the pronoun of the monarchy conjures in my mind "of an experimental "beta-testing" version of a government ... if it works it works ..
no -- i then say, neither "patik" nor "beta" will go well with me
yes - "pathetically yours" and "beta-testing" will they sound to me
I shall settle with "you and i" as i address these human concepts of ascribed power i shall not agree ..

if there is "your high-ness" there must be "your lowliness" i must say .. in the mind of both they must agree to play this game of pronouns i should say
no-- i thought: i shall not play this game

the autumn wind blows
my eyes still close
such a beauteous day
i though the wind in its glory has brought me
like that single red leaf drying
to that land i once knew
has brought this "pathetically yours"
to where i ought to belong, the old folks would say

with a deep deep breath i took, like a buddha under a flame of a forest
i opened my eyes
i am still here ... i am ... that red leaf .. saved from being crushed perhaps
by pronouns ...