Gilbert Koh (b. 1973)

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SELECTED POEMS

Changi International Airport

It is a huge clean box
with clear glass panels,

directions for its visitors
and tidy compartments

to contain the swellings
of a little nation’s pride.

How much can one love
an efficient process?

We are here only because
we are going elsewhere

we are pleased that
our luggage rarely gets lost

we like the purple orchids
and marine fish

and we would stay to watch
the whole world here,

if it was not always
merely passing through.

by Gilbert Koh
from Two Baby Hands (2009)

 

SELECTED POEMS: "Apples" >