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Moving People With Words

Poems on the MRT

Since You Told Me by Toh Hsien Min

 

Since you told me it hasn't been the case
that I have eaten less or, worse yet, more.
I haven't slept away my sunny days
nor tossed and turned at night till half past four.
I haven't worked too hard, nor called in sick.
My boss agrees my recent work's been great.
My clothes are not too shabby, nor too chic.
I haven't drunk myself into a state.

The things I notice are the smaller things;
I do not know if they have always been.
The orchids in my garden have no scent.
The evening crickets do not bow their strings.
The sea has lost its coat of deep marine.
I do not know what these things represent.

Published in Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore (2010)

Toh Hsien Min has authored five books of poetry, including Dans quel sens tombent les feuilles (2016) and the collaborative Lilla Torg (2023). He is the founding editor of the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore.

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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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