Goh Sin Tub (1927-2004)
SELECTED POEMS
Mood
I saw a cow in High Street
Mooing to an inspector;
At night it's curry beef for supper
Chewing the cud
In the shadow of the uncertain
Mushroom.I saw a pale blue moon
Shine magic on sweetcorn in fool glory—
Susie with her panda,
Goosie Loosie meeting Gander Meander,
Yin for yang
And for not-so-young;
The amah says three
Ah Goh says one
The modest lady says nothing,
So two will do it everytime.
The deed is done,
To sum up,
Zero plus one
Zero minus one
Adds up to nought
Ready for another one,
From the distance
The three-fold crow of Cock Mock
And still they deny
The distinctive divine—
Politicians politicking
Never hear
Boom of bombs, shock of shells,
Never feel
Shudder of homes.From the neighbourhood minaret a call to prayer,
And fragrance of buddhist joss fills the air
As through the many-layered corridors of HDBs
Flows the chatter of prayers to ancestors
With here and there a murmur
Of unexpected hail maries:
Incantations of ordinary people
For ordinary protection
Fingering the wish-lamp of their diverse rosaries—
Mood recitations in mode invocative,
Nevertheless evoking doting pity
Sole case for salvation from
End of the world
Mushroom.
by Goh Sin Tub
from Moments in a Singapore Life (1993)
