'East Coast' by Koh Buck Song
a lifetime seems to gape
from which we carved our names
on a coconut tree
now long-lost among the hundreds
shading this haven,
the jack-knife cut
a whisper to the wind,
youth's vandalism of hope
corrected by the
grammar of growing up
but, like a nursery rhyme,
love's basic vocabulary
repeats, still speaks
chapters of comfort,
folios of faith
seen from this shore
here is another snatch of stasis
on the hurtling continuum:
om one side
the shimmer of Shenton Way,
on the other
Changi Airport's shine
and in between
a seamless string
of ships' lamps,
like some Milky Way
of Neptune
imagery of love
is old as the sea
but each time
the metaphors recharge,
renew what they signify
in the abiding language
of the heart
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9 comments:
the poem uses simile in the last stanza referring the imagery of love to be "old as the sea", and the string of ships' lamps as the Milky Way of Neptune.
That's true, Geraldine. Why do you think that simile is used? =)
The poem is talking about love and the sceneries that can be seen in East Coast. "the shimmer of Shenton Way,/on the other/Changi Airport's shine". This shows that from East Coast, many nice sceneries can be seen.
This poem shows the poet's emotions and feelings.
the simile shows that the imagery of love is not only as old as the sea but also as deep. the seamless string of street lamps also forms into a nice shape like the Milky Way to make out an imagery of a love that is very old but beautiful as the sea.
This poet uses metaphor "a seamless string/ of ships' lamps,"
I think the theme of this poem is about changes as the "lifetime seems to gape" which means that the lifetime is widening.
The poet also uses imagery to desribe the Changi Airport and Shenton Way.
In stanza 3 of the poem, the poet cuts the sentence at 'on one side' continued by 'the shimmer of Shenton Way' and 'on the other followed by 'Changi Airport's shine' to emphasize on Shenton Way and Changi Airport which are important places in Singapore.
'corrected by the/ grammar of growing up/ but, like a nursery rhyme,/ love's basic vocabulary/ repeats, still speaks/ chapters of comfort/ folios of faith'
a personification here shows how love speaks as if love was a mother, and even having grown up and exited the childish years, the poet still understand the language that love speaks.
and yet, love is also a child, has only a 'basic vocabulary' telling me that love is prone to tempers too.
but this knowledge offers comfort as it it something familiar to the writer.
The poet uses the metaphor of 'shimmer of Shenton Way,
on the other
Changi Airport's shine
and a seamless string
of ships lamps,
like some Milky Way
of Neptune'and there's a
imagery of love
is old as the sea as the whole poem signify
in the abiding language
of the HEART
The poet depicts East Coast as a love scene/sight for the people. The poet uses metaphors to describe it, "love's basic vocabulary repeats, still speaks chapters of comfort".
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