Memoirs of a Sleepy Isle
-
Memoirs of a Sleepy Isle
Sometimes in my dawn,
the smoke from the ants below,
those in different colours and
making different noises
do waft up to the tiny glass
windows;
which encase my towering house
in a pattern often
repeated near and close to me.
Imagine that we should all
move from the humble earth
to Valhalla's nest in mere decades.
Colours and prints assail
my senses without end.
Those which were once likened
to pigeon holes,
now seem the jewels of the Orient
albeit to the eyes of antipodes.
We carried our kin amongst the wet swamps
now the wet swamp is carefully
nurtured in a laboratory
which people do pay to see.
And the tigers which grandfather
shot
are prized and guarded with care.
The leaders of this nation
stand warily amongst us men.
Be it fear or distance
no one can see through
the coats of white and
the poker faces in public debate.
Have we exchanged a sleepy isle
for one that is still sleepy
but inside because of the steroids
we have eaten to null our true nature?
And the ants still crawl
day in day out,
almost on command
like a Swiss clock, handmade
but ironically not known
for pragmatism
which is labelled on the many ants that
shuffle along the metalled road. -
Hahaha, I think this poem should be read by every members of the ruling party.
Indeed sometimes I do see myself as ant, going to work, day in day out, following the mass, etc.
Just a few things I need to clarify,
First line ‘Sometimes in my dawn,’ the word ‘my’ is it from the island’s point of view, i.e. the personification of the island?
If that is the case, the word ‘we’ in ‘Imagine that we should all’, are you referring to Singaporean in general?
So is this poem written from the ‘island’ point of view or from the ‘Singaporean’ point of view? Actually it is not a big issue liao, I just want to know have a better picture in order to better enjoy the poem.
Secondly, first stanza, second line ‘the smoke from the ants below’, the word ‘smoke’, are you referring to air pollution in general?
I love the way you give our leaders a god-like status here,
The leaders of this nation
stand warily amongst us men.
Be it fear or distance
no one can see through
the coats of white and
the poker faces in public debate
It is about time they come and live among us mortals.
Overall an A + piece of work! -
Originally posted by DeadPoet:
Well, the "my" is the poet's POV. Subsequently, I wanted to give the poem a feeling that shows the foucs from individual gradually shifting to a more public point of view, thus the "we".
Hahaha, I think this poem should be read by every members of the ruling party.
Indeed sometimes I do see myself as ant, going to work, day in day out, following the mass, etc.
Just a few things I need to clarify,
First line ‘Sometimes in my dawn,’ the word ‘my’ is it from the island’s point of view, i.e. the personification of the island?
If that is the case, the word ‘we’ in ‘Imagine that we should all’, are you referring to Singaporean in general?
So is this poem written from the ‘island’ point of view or from the ‘Singaporean’ point of view? Actually it is not a big issue liao, I just want to know have a better picture in order to better enjoy the poem.
Secondly, first stanza, second line ‘the smoke from the ants below’, the word ‘smoke’, are you referring to air pollution in general?
I love the way you give our leaders a god-like status here,
[b]The leaders of this nation
stand warily amongst us men.
Be it fear or distance
no one can see through
the coats of white and
the poker faces in public debate
It is about time they come and live among us mortals.
Overall an A + piece of work!
[/b]
The smoke actually refers to the pollution from the cars below, because they are as many cars as "ants"..Hope you enjoyed the poem.