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Poems on the MRT

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Night by Anne Lee Tzu Pheng

 

the night is lonely and long,
quiet between the far bass
of frogs calling till dawn,

before me the lamp's harsh light
outlines my wakefulness,
holds off the night.

I have thought of you,
remembering the rest
your kindness brought me to

but could not hold in time.
I turn the lamp down, thinking
of the dividing line

between darkness closing about
me, and the new day's light
after the stars opt out.

Published in Unfree Verse (2017)

Anne Lee Tzu Pheng has received numerous awards for her poetry, including the Singapore Cultural Medallion (1985); SEA Write Award (1987); Gabriela Mistral Award from the Republic of Chile (1995); Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award (1996); and the NBDCS Award for English Poetry (three times). Some of her poems have been set to music. She published three new books in 2012 and another two in 2014, including Soul’s Festival, a compilation of her first four collections which had been out of print.

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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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