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Moving People With Words

Poems on the MRT

when words are not enough remember (for Ivy) by Chandran Nair

 

sunlight in forest clearings, the coolness of water
against toes, the desert's beauty in which you drown

when words are not enough remember
the loneliness of parting, the emptiness of rooms
the cat climbing onto your lap, the bird calling
her down to breakfast

when words are not enough
remember love

Published in Reaching For Stones: Collected Poems (1963–2009) (2010)

Chandran Nair was born in Kerala, South India and arrived in Singapore in 1951. He was part of the growing literary scene in Singapore, informally grouped around Edwin Thumboo at the National University of Singapore’s English Department and Goh Poh Seng, the founder of Centre 65 and Chairman of the National Theatre Trust. His first book of poems, Once The Horsemen and Other Poems (University Education Press), was published in 1972 and was well-received, as was his second collection After the hard hours, this rain (Woodrose Publications, 1975). He also co-translated The Poems and Lyrics of the last Lord Lee, the last Emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty (Woodrose Publications,1975) with Malcolm Koh Ho Ping. His poem “Grandfather” has been widely published in a number of languages, and has been used by the University of Cambridge International Examinations Board for their examination papers. His collected poems, Reaching For Stones, was published by Ethos Books in 2010. Nair’s fiction won The New Nation Singapore Short Story Writing contest in 1973 and has appeared in publications like Short Stories From Africa and Asia (which he co-edited with Theo Luzuka), Singapore Short Stories (Vol. 1) edited by Robert Yeo, and also in Malay translation in Cerpen Cerpen Asean (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka). (Adapted from poetry.sg)

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Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, integrating local literature into the daily experience of commuters. Look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, as well as videos created by local artists and featuring local poets in stations and on trains. The Chinese, Malay, and Tamil poems are available in both the original languages and English. To enjoy the full poems, commuters may read them on go.gov.sg/potm.

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