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Moving People With Words

Poems on the MRT

追 (Pursuit) by Loh Guan Liang

 

My Chinese teacher once taught me
that pursuit starts with a dot breaking
the surface, then an upward slash
to the right; the sail must be erect
before the remaining strokes can appear,
junk-shaped, to chase white waters.

When she wrapped my hand in hers I saw
only unyielding sequence in penmanship,
how my pen could only write my life
forwards, not backwards. Now older,
pursuit looks more like a butterfly
searching for its other wing – what
my Chinese teacher did not say
is that we also finish each sentence
with a dot, except that it winds back
to itself, the point of departure
almost touching the point of return。

Published in Bitter Punch (2016)

Purchase the book here.

Loh Guan Liang plays with words as he observes the world around him. He is the author of two poetry collections: Transparent Strangers (2012) and Bitter Punch (2016). Bitter Punch was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018. Although he mostly writes poetry, Guan Liang has also dabbled with short fiction, personal essays and literary translation. In 2014 he co-translated Art Studio, a Chinese novel by Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon. Guan Liang updates at http://lohguanliang.weebly.com

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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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