They say there were no shadows
at the height of that afternoon.
Constricted to a single point,
we were isolated, no secondary bodies.
The trees choked in the hot wind.
The port, through the filmed windows,
was a shock of light
where cranes reared like black stilts.
Twigs on white sand.
On the way home, we passed an electric-blue sedan:
the brilliant, hunched carapace of a beetle,
a lit match in the queue of cars.
Tonight, we scatter Panadol
over our shoulders, like salt,
warding off the afterburn.
Note
A Lahaina Noon is a phenomenon where the sun is directly overhead, so objects cast no direct shadow or cast minimal shadow. This occurred at 1.11pm on 23 March 2024 in Singapore.
