My Ink Bleeds

“ Not all prisons have bars. Some are built from silence and expectations .” Evangeline Teo was the picture of grace—elegant cheongsam always pressed, her hair in a neat twist, pearls around her neck like punctuation marks. Wife of Dato ’ Reyes Teo, a prominent banker whose face appeared often in The Star , she lived in a house tucked behind iron gates in Damansara Heights. The kind of house with silent maids, mango trees trimmed just so, and a prayer altar that smelled fain

The recent news about the young girl who was stabbed—over 200 times —hit me harder than I expected. It wasn’t just another tragedy on the evening news. It was personal. My brother was stabbed over 180 times by someone who was having an episode. That kind of loss doesn’t just fade—it reshapes you. In the years since, I’ve tried to make sense of it through my art. I released an album with songs that attempt to capture that pain—the confusion, the silence that follows, and the

There are moments the world forgets to turn, and time holds its breath between heartbeats. We walk, uncertain, through echoes of ourselves— seeking meaning in mirrors and in dust. It’s not the thunder that shapes us, but the stillness after it fades. For in that hush, we meet our truest voice— a whisper born of loss, of hope, of grace. And we understand at last: we were never chasing light. We were learning how to see in the dark. ©️ Lyia Meta RAINY DAY by JULYO feat. LYIA ME

The glass shattered before she even knew she had dropped it. Not just the glass — the moment, the day, the illusion she’d been carrying...

Foreword / Prelude This is not about one person, or one story. It is not written with blame or bitterness. Rather, it is an observation...

My childhood wore hand-me-down shoes, gladiator sandals bought too big, slipping loose with every mile. Still, the journeys were my...

Foreword by Lyia Meta The first time I watched Horton Hears a Who! —the 2008 CGI animated film from Blue Sky Studios, distributed by 20th...

Trust is such a fragile thing. We speak of it easily, but living it is far harder. Trust requires surrender. It asks us to believe in...

I do not hear the world as you do. Its voices bloom in shades, each word a brushstroke on the canvas of my mind. Crimson folds around...

Foreword by Lyia Meta It’s no secret that I’ve always been a sucker for period dramas and timeless classics. One story that has stayed...

Forward I haven’t done much reading lately—music takes up most of my time now. But many years ago, I was constantly buried in books. The...

Sundered and Reforged: What It Means to me. by Lyia Meta We don’t always break with sound. Sometimes the fracture is silent — a slow...

She didn’t ask for height. She earned it. Born under a sky of shoulds and shadows, she grew beneath Jupiter— beneath the knuckle of...

He called me by my name. No one ever does that. They pretend. They walk around me like I’m furniture with eyes. But he didn’t. He looked...

"Some lines don’t rise. They pull." - Lyia Meta The line bent, not up but down— a soft slope into ruin. It didn’t ask. It took. First, a...

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨...

Foreword Some people move through the world carrying more than what’s visible. You can feel it when you're with them. Like something...

Foreword As a child, I was completely captivated by the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I spent countless...

Foreword by Lyia Meta When I was younger, Greek myths filled the quiet spaces in my mind. I didn’t just read them—I carried them. I...

FOREWORD Memory, Fragility, and the Books That Stayed With Me I didn’t start with The Diary of Anne Frank. My first introduction to the...

Foreword by Lyia Meta There are songs that don’t just play—they echo. They follow you through time, quietly altering the way you see...

Foreword by Lyia Meta Many years ago, I became utterly absorbed in the story of Jeanne d’Arc, better known to many as Joan of Arc.¹ Her...

Foreword by Lyia Meta Some time ago, I came across a film that left a lasting impression—Burnt Offerings, starring Karen Black. It wasn’t...

Foreword When I was a little girl, you would often find me drawing elaborate pieces of ‘art’ in the sand, on the school blackboard when...

The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David Some dreams come with a price tag. And I don’t mean the kind you can swipe a card for. I’ve...

In skies of ash where shadows play, Hope often hides, but then finds a way. Softly, a glint so slight, I may Break through the gloom with...

As the year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on how much has changed—not only in the world around me but within my own life and...

There once was a girl, so strong, For whom "tired" was never in her song. Indefatigable, true, With a million things to pursue, She’d...

Dreams and trials entwined Each day turns hope to true light— I am all I seek. I am everything I set out to be. ©Lyia Meta All rights...

In the quiet of the afternoon light, A tuxedo cat sits, black and white. With fur so sleek, like evening’s attire, She prances and...

There are days when you just want to shut out the world, to retreat into a space where expectations don’t exist, and you can simply...

I dance, I dance I dance to feel my soul take flight, I dance with all my heart, igniting the night. I dance, I dance, I dance! In every...

I have always been attuned to the subtle "signs" and gentle "nudges" from the universe. These affirmations often guide me back onto the...

Photocredit: KACV, Kerala, India. Taken at the IIMF 2022. Far too often, I've been questioned: "Why do you sing, Lyia? Why do you write...

“ The pursuit of happiness is a paradox: it’s not found in the chase, but in the quiet acceptance of the present moment where joy quietly...

Title: The Path | Artwork: Lyia Meta | Media: acrylic, mixed media at the precipice where calm starts, there is a balance within, where...

The phrase "having your cake and eating it too" implies wanting to enjoy two mutually exclusive benefits at the same time. In the context...

Oh, the dreaded task, it looms ahead, But I kick the can down the road instead. Bills to pay and chores to mind, I’ll do it later, I...

Every day offers a new beginning, and I embrace the opportunity to start afresh or find a reason to keep going. A fresh canvas can be...

What's happening to me, I can't quite say, As shadows shift and skies turn gray. And now unsure, in a world where nothing feels secure....

On darkened and narrow streets, I stare at the distance and look for reprieve, A fleeting light, a glimmer of hope, She guides my steps...

Artwork: Peripheral Oddity by Lyia Meta I recently had an interesting conversation with an acquaintance about the messages life sends us,...

Artwork: Clouds II by Lyia Meta “”Life, like a fractured dream, unfolds with its share of highs, lows, and unexpected turns, akin to a...

Artwork: SLEEP by Lyia Meta Caution: This post may be unsettling for some, as it delves into the impact of life's impermanence,...

artwork: Morning's Kiss by Lyia Meta As I journey through life, I've come to realize that true self-understanding often comes to us as we...

I guess this marks the beginning of my journey into the world of blogging. Looking back, my early attempts at self-expression involved...