Koh Buck Song (b. 1963)
SELECTED POEMS
Merlion: Strike One
“Singapore’s iconic Merlion statue… was hit by a lightning bolt during a thunderstorm and slightly damaged, media reports said Sunday.”—Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan) 1 March 2009
was this, perchance, some mishap to befall
or in fact a routine, if unscheduled, hit,
surrendering to the elements and all,
with your amphibious sentinel grit?
whether this is blessing in disguise, for sure,
would be moot, if proposed conductor rods had borne
your mutation into a more fearsome creature,
fashioning a weird twin-horn or Mer-unicornlightning can strike twice, the-powers-that-be grant,
making this higher risk appetite extravagant:
official rarity of form trumping function,
swiftly-repaired mane left raring to restore,
as you spew to the wind all caution,
all-fixed symbol for another new Singapore
by Koh Buck Song
from Reflecting on the Merlion: An Anthology of Poems (2009)
