Monday, 7 June 2021

"Singapore River" by Lee Tzu Pheng

Singapore River

Lee Tze Pheng


The operation was massive;

designed to give new life

to the old lady.

We cleaned out

her arteries, removed

detritus and silt,

created a by-pass

for the old blood.

Now you can hardly tell

her history.


We have become

so health-conscious

the heart

can sometimes be troublesome.


///

from The Brink of An Amen (1991)


"The Planners" by Boey Kim Cheng

The Planners

Boey Kim Cheng


They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,

filled with permutations of possibilities.

The buildings are in alignment with the roads

which meet at desired points

linked by bridges all hang

in the grace of mathematics.

They build and will not stop.

Even the sea draws back

and the skies surrender.


They erase the flaws,

the blemishes of the past,

knock off useless blocks with dental dexterity.

All gaps are plugged with gleaming gold.

The country wears perfect rows of shining teeth.

Anaesthesia,amnesia, hypnosis.

They have the means.

They have it all so it will not hurt,

so history is new again. The piling will not stop.

The drilling goes right through the fossils of last century.


But my heart would not bleed

poetry. Not a single drop

to stain the blueprint

of our past’s tomorrow.