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Poems on the MRT

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Simple Days (Remembering Mother in Portugal, June 2015), Day 12 by Heng Siok Tian

 

The sun orders flames in skies
Did you feel the heat of death?
Mother, you visited me last night, my last in Lisbon.
Back to me, head slightly bent, your silhouette calmed me.
You kept me in the cities I visited, the way I kept your photo
in my purse.
We saw Ponte 25 Abril, the closest to the Golden Gate Bridge
I said (childlikely before) that I would bring you to. I did not.
(You forgave me.)
Each street I turned, you looked out from balcony,
cooking fish in each azulejo dish,
humming a fado tune.
I want to be cleansed as heir to your music.
I yearn to weave as sardines in your oceans.

Published in Grandma’s Attic, Mom’s HDB, My Wallpaper (2021)

Heng Siok Tian has published five collections of poetry: Crossing the Chopsticks and Other Poems (1993), My City, My Canvas (1999), Contouring (2004), Is My Body a Myth (2011) and Mixing Tongues (2011). Her poems have been anthologised in publications such as Journeys: Words, Home and Nation, No Other City: An Anthology of Urban Poetry and Moving Worlds. She also wrote short stories and short plays. She was a Fellow with the Iowa International Writing Program in 2000 (on a National Arts Council Fellowship). She also participated in literary events in China, Denmark, France, the US and the Philippines.

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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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