laremy.sg

Today is a momentous occasion.

Today, I am drinking Complan for the very first time in my life.

Complan is gross. Okay, I’m biased. I’ve never been a very big fan of these… products.

In any case, I just thought I’d mark this occasion with a poem because of how Complan has been immortalised (to me, at least) in Arthur Yap’s “2 mothers in a hdb playground”:

2 mothers in a hdb playground

ah beng is so smart,
already he can watch tv & know the whole story.
your kim cheong is also quite smart,
what boy is he in the exam?

this playground is not too bad, but i’m always
so worried, car here, car there.
at exam time, it’s worse.
because you know why?
kim cheong eats so little.

give him some complan. my ah beng was like that,
now he’s different. if you give him anything
he’s sure to finish it all up.

sure, sure. cheong’s father buys him
vitamins but he keeps it inside his mouth
& later gives it to the cat.
i scold like mad but what for?
if i don’t see it, how can i scold?

on Saturday, tv showed a new type,
special for children. why don’t you call
his father buy some? maybe they are better.

money’s no problem. it’s not that
we want to save. if we buy it
& he doesn’t eat it, throwing money
into the jamban is the same.
ah beng’s father spends so much,
takes out the mosaic floor & wants
to make terazzo or what.

we also got new furniture, bought from diethelm.
the sofa is so soft. i dare not sit. they all
sit like don’t want to get up. so expensive.
nearly two thousand dollars, sure must be good.

that you can’t say. my toa-soh
bought an expensive sewing machine,
after 6 months, it is already spoilt.
she took it back but … beng,
come here, come, don’t play the fool.
your tuition teacher is coming.
wah! kim cheong, now you’re quite big.

come, cheong, quick go home & bathe.
ah pah wants to take you chya-hong in new motor-car.

– Arthur Yap

I can’t remember if the original had any stanzas but I thought I’d delineate the text into stanzas so you can see the conversation between the mothers (a la Peter Tan’s webpage).

In case you are not very intelligent and don’t know why this poem is meaningful, please allow me to highlight a few significant aspects of the poem to you:

• Captures the use of English in Singapore, especially how Chinese Singaporeans speak English (wrongly or otherwise) in modern Singapore’s early years (look at the title: it’s “a hdb” instead of “an hdb”. So you’ve got to be adamantine when you read out the title i.e. “a haitch-dee-bee” instead of “an aitch-dee-bee”).
• Demonstrates changing class aspirations in Singapore, from a Chinese perspective, at least.
• Depicts the urbanisation of the Singapore landscape vis-a-vis economic progress.

DO YOU NOW UNDERSTAND WHY YOU NEED COMPLAN???

Well, I still maintain that Complan is gross but beggars whose mouths have been wired shut cannot be choosers.

BTW, whoever is coming over to my place to visit me – you’re gonna be served Complan.

I’ve just finished reading Map of the Invisible World by Tash Aw.

I got it at a book swap on Sunday and it’s accompanied me since my operation on Tuesday.

There was a motif in the text which I thought was quite cool: the recurrent use of “La Coccinelle (The Ladybird)” by Victor Hugo to discuss the theme of love.

The poem, in French, as far as I know, as follows:

La Coccinelle

Elle me dit: “Quelque chose
“Me tourmente.” Et j’aperçus
Son cou de neige, et, dessus,
Un petit insecte rose.

J’aurais dû, – mais, sage ou fou,
A seize ans, on est farouche, -
Voir le baiser sur sa bouche
Plus que l’insecte à son cou.

On eût dit un coquillage;
Dos rose et taché de noir.
Les fauvettes pour nous voir
Se penchaient dans le feuillage.

Sa bouche fraîche était là;
Je me courbai sur la belle,
Et je pris la coccinelle;
Mais le baiser s’envola.

“Fils, apprends comme on me nomme,”
Dit l’insecte du ciel bleu,
“Les bêtes sont au bon Dieu;
“Mais la bêtise est à l’homme.”

– Victor Hugo

An English translation, culled together from other translations plus my own limited knowledge of French:

The Ladybird

She told me: “Something is
Bothering me.” And I saw
Her snow-white neck, and, on it,
A small rose-coloured insect.

I should have, – but, wise or foolish,
One is awkward at sixteen, -
Seen the kiss on her lips
More than the bug on her neck.

One would have called it a seashell;
Red-backed and spotted black.
To see us, the warblers
Leaned forward in the foilage.

There was her cool mouth;
I bent over the lovely girl,
And I caught the ladybird;
But away flew the kiss.

“Son, learn my name,”
Said the bug from the sky blue,
“The beasts belong to our good Lord;
“But beastly stupidity belongs to man.”

– Victor Hugo

Here’s a comic of the poem too, if you’re so inclined.

Hands move. An exam.
Coloured pens mark scripts and time
while youth flies away.

–

An exam. Hands move,
coloured pens mark scripts and time
while youth flies away.

–

One among others.
Coloured pens mark scripts and time
while youth flies away.

Winds across water.
Paper boats without sails will
Change course once again.

I’ve just submitted three poems for a new and independently-run publication based in Singapore!

It’s called Ceriph; you can check out their Facebook group here.

Their mission:

We exist to provide a space for Singaporeans to develop and showcase ideas and work in the form of prose, social commentaries, art, musings, photography, and much more. We want to share these without inhibition, to celebrate these thoughts and their existence. As a non-profitable venture, we are depending solely on the interest of readers and contributions from Singaporeans who are equally passionate about the locally developing arts and writing scene.

If this appeals to you too, I’d strongly encourage to submit some of the stuff you’ve been keeping under wraps.