Reflections of Life: A Collection of Poems by Datin Seri Shuryani Datuk Shuaib (RM30/estimated around 6 euros 50 cents). Published by *Yayasan Semporna, Kuala Lumpur & Produced by The Writers' Publishing House Sdn. Bhd. Kuala Lumpur.
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This may seem a little odd that I have placed the back cover of Datin Seri Shuryani's book upfront - which one must admit is absolutely charming if not beguiling, and the front cover as you will observe at the end of my post, a little way down. There are two reasons for this.
I was in Malaysia for a week while on my way to Australia in March of this year, when I picked this decorative title up from the MPH Bookstore at 1 Utama, Kuala Lumpur. I wanted so badly to sketch a few words on the writer's pensive contemplations at the time, but couldn't locate a photograph of the book, from the few interviews that had already been conducted by the media with Datin Seri Shuryani and subsequently, placed online.
I then attempted to scan the cover but faced a few difficulties with this, from the poetry book's large rectangular format. On my return to Ireland, I noticed that part of the title and blurb on the front cover had been sadly waylaid and snipped of the edge, when measured against a larger size.
The second reason, is that the back cover with the graceful Datin Seri Shuryani photographed in it, near obliging swans and ducks on a shimmering lake, made for an alluring touching scene. And so I concluded, what an excellent saving grace!
In Reflections on Life, Datin Seri Shuryani counts on several pieces of considerately arranged musings, spread out next to big colourful pictures sought from the family album. Words and photographs of family and friends and Datin Seri Shuryani herself engaged in pleasing pursuits while surrounded by exquisite geographical landscapes, ring up the proper imagery of a harmonised percussion tune.
Datin Seri Shuryani's absorbing compositions on her steadfast devotion to an Islamic faith, her love for her husband, children, friends and country and clear lamentations on the sorrowful , prove tender and insightful, while resting on a sober yet joyous celebration of life's spiritual blessings.
I wouldn't so much consider the writings to be held as poems as I would label them stretches of lingering rhymes, thoughtful rejoinders and poignant verse. In a nutshell, they serve as passionate prayerful meditations bordering on the sacredness and grabbing a slice of the writer's own enraptured heart, for an invisible picture to be nestled between the pages.
Perhaps it was this then, that on coming across Reflections of Life at the bookstore, I wept. Few books have moved me so absolutely and instantly, when held at a glance that I would be straightaway drawn to the sharp sting of tears in a crowd.
In her Foreword, Datin Seri Shuryani confesses to scattered notebooks with 'scribblings, drawings and photos,' filled with memories of 'joys and tears.'
I suspect that Reflections of Life proved gripping because like me, Datin Seri Shuryani herself carries a traveller's spirit. I don't mean a tourist's escapism as I would, someone with a need to travel often and so, would with good reason, act on it. This could be for many reasons. To partake of inner celebrations, to rejoice with simple acceptance at the enchantment of foreign lands or to herald the childlike wonder of the universe. The thankful and optimistic would always perceive this to be a wonderful world in spite of pitfalls and tragedies. In times of sadness, the silver lining is doted upon.
Only a traveller would know, ever so often the dampening feeling on the last morning of a favourite place, one returns to again and again. Only a veteran traveller with thanksgiving in her heart would celebrate every moment, from an airport to a plane, a sea of enthralling faces at the boarding gate and the bliss of ordinary things that sing of sacredness as if it was the very first time one held a boarding pass, even though flights may be of the norm. Only a traveller would like a willing wet sponge, be captivated by spontanous adventure at a moment's notice.
I thought that in Destiny of Love, these lines proved unusually insightful. 'There's always a place you want to go, there's always a place you wish you were.' In Waiting, Datin Seri Shuryani writes, 'One ponders the mystique of waiting...the waiting that has been asked by time. I was never alone, in the journey of your illusions...'
Oh, how I wept!
I had always missed my partner, D, only too often. He is not the traveller like me. What did it for me at the bookshop, were these lines in Memoir of a Traveller. 'My, I was wondering how can this body take such a long trip... well, now facing a fresh English bun for breakfast...'
How often have I hid my tears on planes everytime I left D's side to travel to another country although I would return in a few weeks or a month. My vulnerable times at this regular heartbreak - the thorn in the flesh indebted to our very happy moments together - lie in those meal trays. I have left food untouched sometimes, thinking that it was D's favourite dish and that I wasn't able to share it with him. I would pine for his company. Perhaps not buns but croissants and the like. For me, the plane rides are always painful when I'm leaving Ireland. The rest of the routes aren't as bad.
So you can see what Reflections of Life did to me.
I also perceived that Datin Seri Shuryani honed a special ability to link different emotions together in one poem. For instance, her lines would break into celebration and suddenly offer a pained lamentation for the unfortunate soul. Or that seriousness would break into gay shouts of ooh-la-la. These textures added interest and I hope that the poet would expand on her craft to create varied layered emotions from a singular thought of the imagination.
Beautifully produced as quite the classy poetry book by The Writers' Publishing House, Kuala Lumpur, Reflections of Life is for the affectionate being, the traveller's spirit and the prayerful soul. In turn, Datin Seri Shuryani herself, stays the fascinating seeking thinker.
*Reflections of Life was produced to raise funds for Datin Seri's charity foundation,Yayasan Semporna (The Semporna Foundation). Semporna is a township on the East Coast of Sabah, Malaysia, where Datin Seri Shuryani's husband, Datuk Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal, Malaysia's Minister of Rural and Regional Development, was raised. The charity aims to provide opportunities for the town's citizens.
