The Intuition

By Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

I brace myself to move through the city
I crane my neck and see the pillars scraping the sky
My heart bursts with pride for my race
My nation has come so far…
In my mind, I retrace my youth
There were no arches then, no skyscraping symbols
Just the sound of birds singing in the padi fields
There was, though, the wealth of human spirit
A wealth of forgiveness and love
A wealth of helping hands
Among the thousands of unsung heroes
There are challenges beyond our borders
The world gallops ahead, fast
Hark! Allow us not to be entrapped within our words
The fast will get their rewards
The slow, the leftovers
We chose moderation, not extremism
Inclusion, not isolation
Trust, not suspicion
Togetherness, not control
We moved forward, in a mould our own
That which is inherited will not diminish
That which is cared for will not deteriorate
Here, on this earth
We fill the skyscrapers with our milk of human kindness
We cherish Alfred Nobel’s ambitions and the poems of Muhammad Iqbal
We fertilize the graves of evil wars with the frangipani of peace
Melodious tunes from the flute of our culture of love float across borders
While we plant our flag at the peak of the nation’s pride, towards Glory, Excellence and Distinction.