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Poems on the MRT

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莫兰迪色系 / Morandi Hues by Ng Zhengwei

 

莫兰迪色系
伍政玮


撕开标签
抹去光泽
裸露杯子瓶子在包装背后的
粗糙
涂上一层不显眼的
莫兰迪色系
我沉迷在
被灰色驯服的色彩

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裸露一身名牌背后的
粗糙
涂上一层不起眼的
谦逊
我温馨在
㗝呸店阿姨叫我“小弟”

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抹去光泽

Morandi Hues
Written by Ng Zhengwei
Translated by Shelly Bryant

peel off the labels
wipe away the gloss
lay bare the roughness
of cups and bottles beneath the packaging
apply a layer of the unremarkable –
Morandi hues
enthralling
colours tamed by grey

peel off the labels
wipe away the gloss
lay bare the roughness
behind the branded attire
apply a layer of unassuming
modesty
the warmth I feel
when the kopi soh calls me “xiaodi”

peel off the labels
wipe away the gloss


Ng Zhengwei (b. 1995), graduated from National University of Singapore with B.Sc. in Pharmacy and now works in the healthcare industry. He views poetry as a placebo—while it may not heal life's struggles, it can lessen the pain. Ng has won the Excellence Award for poetry at the Singapore Youth Chinese Literary Award (Singapore, 2024), and his works have been widely featured in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He has published two poetry collections: The Child Made of White Paper (2022) and Hallucinations and Mishearings (2024).

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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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