First published on the 2026 Commonwealth Quilt. The Commonwealth Quilt is a creative initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation, bringing together poetry, stories and artistic expressions from across the Commonwealth. Celebrating diverse voices, cultures and lived experiences, the project explores shared histories, identities and aspirations ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth People’s Forum and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
I grew up thinking my family was poor.
I remember our little red car, which had certainly seen better days. Its windows were grimy, its exterior was decorated with graffiti (I don’t remember who was responsible for this), and, in my childhood imagination, it had become an entire ecosystem inhabited by minnows, creepy crawlies and a rather friendly vegan crab called Sebastian.
What I did not fully appreciate then was the economic uncertainty surrounding my childhood.
The 1997 Asian financial crisis affected countless families across Southeast Asia. Many middle-income households quietly adjusted their circumstances, made do with less and carried on.
My parents were never particularly concerned with new cars, fashionable clothes, or furniture. Much of what we owned was handed down, including jewellery (although one piece apparently had to be thrown away because it was haunted by my great-great-grandmother).
As a child, I interpreted these things as signs of poverty. And apparently, some things never change. My father still drives a battered black car that absolutely everyone in the family hates. He, however, remains entirely unbothered.
Looking back, I understand that there is a difference between financial hardship, frugality, and what families choose to value.
It is with these reflections that I contributed “Forbidden Eden” to The Commonwealth Foundation’s Commonwealth Quilt, a creative initiative bringing together stories, poetry and artistic expressions from across the Commonwealth ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth People’s Forum and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda.
The poem revisits our little red car through the eyes of a child who transformed its imperfections into an imaginary world.
It is a story about childhood imagination, making do, and finding beauty in circumstances we do not yet fully understand.
I am delighted to share this small piece of my Malaysian childhood as part of a much larger tapestry of Commonwealth experiences.
Forbidden Eden by Hannah Nazri
Crimson Red of The Seven’s possession
Not just a carriage, also an abode
For creepy crawlies and the unknown
In the blackened hilly meadows not alone
They settled to thrive as if their home–
And by the dirty screen and windows
There is a school of minnows
Of black and white such is the fashion
Here they swim so happily and so oblivious
To those giant eyes always so curious
By and by came Sebastian the Crab
Whose big scary claws drew much gasps
But he is vegan, he politely bellowed
“These are daisies for you, dear minnows,” said he
“Friends of mine, can you be?”
Soon out of gloom were the darkened meadows
As daisies bloomed across the windows
Of black and white as fashion had beaconed
With “The Painted Patriotic Eight” also bestowed
As fate had stated between Crab and Minnows
Such is the community in forbidden Eden
Existing concomitantly in symbiotic serenity
In a place where food is always aplenty
And space so prodigious to roam free
“This is home,” said they in glee
However when The Seven returned and occupied
All inhabitants; Crawlies, Crab and Minnows alike
Remained silent to protect their secrecy
As the tiny metal carcass roared in ecstasy
In callous thirsty tirade of black gold
In another tale untold.
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- Malaysia in the Commonwealth: Defence, Duty, and Diaspora | Royal Commonwealth Society
- A Picnic by the Sea | The Clarendon Collective
- Among the Garbage and the Flowers Art Exhibition, Paris from 10th-22nd Oct 2021
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About the Author: Hannah Nazri
