Jungles (on the way to Johor Bahru)

speed
through the jungle
on the long and meandering never-
      ending gray
river and its many rivulets
all of tar and concrete

on both sides
a blend of a myriad of dense leafy
      ferny greens
tall thin trees and sturdy ones
in competition with the drooping
      steel ones
that give off their own light

then a sign flashing past warning that
Speed Kills

a short distance on you’ve gone
from jungle to jungle
still dense but no longer heavily wooded –
heavily concreted perhaps -
steel reinforced mammoths unashamedly
jostling to get closer to the sun
even though they have no need for the sunbeams
and cannot photosynthesize

the river of tar and concrete rises
majestically as if some river god has
      commanded it
as he makes an appearance

beneath
a different stream runs blue and gray
catching and reflecting the sun’s rays