Hedwig Anuar (b. 1928)
SELECTED POEMS
The Ballad of Davy Marshall
(With apologies to Walt Disney’s “Davy Crockett”)
Davy came to Singapore one fine day,
Took to lawyering and made it pay,
Talked to folk ‘neath the apple-tree,
And promised them freedom and liberty.
Davy, Davy Marshall,
Champion of liberty.Went to London with a motley crew,
UMNO and Lib-Socs and PAP too,
Asked for Merdeka for Singapore,
While Lennox-Boyd murmured,
“I’ve heard it all before.”
Davy, Davy Marshall,
Asked for freedom for Singapore.Sat around a table with Lennox-Boyd,
For three long days they were fully employed,
Talked all they could on internal security,
Alas, never once could they both agree.
Davy, Davy Marshall,
Could not but disagree.No more talking, so he said farewell.
Told the Colonial Office boys to go to hell,
Took a deep breath and counted up to ten,
Then said cheerily, “Why don’t we start again?”
Davy, Davy Marshall,
Wanted to start again.Flew home and stopped for tea with Mr Nehru,
Met the Press and shouted at Lee Kuan Yew,
Swore, “I’ll resign.” then “No, that I won’t.”
Davy, Davy Marshall,
The man who says “will” and “won’t.”Davy Marshall the Chief Minister,
Everywhere he looked, saw plots sinister,
He’s talking himself out of the Assembly,
Talking his way back to the old apple-tree.
Davy, Davy Marshall,
Back ‘neath the old apple-tree.
by Hedwig Anuar
from Under the Apple Tree: Political Parodies of the 1950s (1999)
