The Teller of Tales

This is a small, straight tale
that is not gathered from history's fragments
or picked from backstage events.

this fine universe
is like the mushroom. growing
from freedom and darkness of the soul,
where a drop of rain becomes a world.

what may i add
are mere brittle branches of anxiety
shoots and blossoms of words
- his is the story's tree
wrapped round its meaning.

Muhammad Haji Salleh

(©)Muhammad Haji Salleh

Muhammad Haji Salleh was born 1942 in Taiping, Perak is one of Malaysia's leading poets. He studied at the Universities of Singapore, Malaya and Michigan where he obtained a Ph. D. in Comparative Literature in 1973. He is currently professor of Literature at the Science University of Malaysia. In 1991 he was awarded the Malaysian National Literary Award and also received the ASEAN Literary Award (1977), S.E.A. Write Award (1997) and MASTERA Award (2002).
He published more than 10 collections of poetry, such as Time and its People (1978), Beyond the Archipelago (1994), Rowing Down Two Rivers (2000) etc. Muhammad Haji Salleh has been invited and participated at a large number of outstanding international poetry festivals.