Voices receding like the ocean waves
The red sea calms and lazes
Leaving the clanking of metals
Soiled plastic for space battles
Soon as the tide dies
Its child will rise
The bloody scene like history repeats
The lines. The pangs. Impatience defeats.
Gaiety. No defence. Guard is down.
Seldom does one see a frown.
Colour matters not.
Language adulterated in a knot.
Postscript:
And so you see, my dear teen
'tis a typical day in our canteen.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Mrs Sharon Tan
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Setting: In the school canteen, midway through recess
1st stanza: Talks about the receding number of pupils in the canteen and the relative quietness near the end of recess which is why the sound of the metal cutlery and plastic plates is amplified. The battle for space in the container by the plastic plates is evidence that there had been a lot more pupils in the canteen earlier on. Hence, the canteen must have been much noisier.
In the 1st stanza, the voices are likened to the waves indicating that at high tide, when the canteen is at its busiest, the noise level must also have been very high! =P The crowd must have been very big, hence it is big like the sea unlike a small pond. Also, the colour 'red' is used because the pupils wear red uniforms. When they crowd together in the canteen, it might have looked like a 'red sea' of people. =)
2nd stanza: Continuing the analogy of the waves of the sea, the previous crown like the tide 'dies' down (that is receds back into the classrooms) and the new crowd (of pupils coming into the canteen) is known as its child. The use of the word 'bloody' is to continue the colour emphasising the presence of the pupils. Blood is also related to life and death, and food in the canteen provides nourishment for the body and allows the young blood (or youth) to live. Hence (especially in this case), the 'bloody scene' is not necessarily violent. Perhaps under other circumstances, when there is a shortage of food, the queue for food may turn violent with increasing sense of desperation. In school, the reaction is rather mild. Apart from the long lines (or queues at the different foodstall), the hunger 'pangs' would be enough to 'defeat' one's normal cheerful countenance. When one is hungry and doesn't get one's food fast enough, it may give rise to the occasional frowns.
3rd Stanza: Once the food is in one's hands, one tends to feel more secured and less tense with their 'guard' 'down'. =) It is as if a goal has been achieved and a target met. Hence, seldom do people 'frown' when they have what they want (to eat). This stanza also highlights the interaction between pupils and the language they use. It suggests that regardless of their race and ethnicity, pupils tend to code-switch, that is speak in mixed languages such that there are words in English, Mother Tongue (Mandarin/Malay/Tamil), other Chinese dialects or Singlish. Hence, the language is described as 'adulterated'. It is so impure that it seems in be in a dead knot. perhaps it is difficult for pupils to speak less of colloquial Singapore English.
The choice of words has been explained in my previous posts. Do feel free to comment on the structure, subject matter or theme and rhyme. What effect do these literary devices have on you? =)
The poet has also uses similes and metaphors to further emphasise on the atmosphere of the canteen whereby, "Voices receding like the ocean waves and "The red sea calms and lazes".
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