Theophilus Kwek, Singapore
Pasar
on the clearest nights from the tallest floors
you can still see the dragon’s tail of it
laid out against the night’s extravagance
swaddling the old church river of light
a thousand small fires dancing on the gas
see the first red roof of the neighbourhood
raised above the swamp where pastor nga
used to tell the story of his lost left shoe
swallowed by the earth before all this land
was piled firm enough for them to build on
houses to hold every one of us
corridors stacked right into the sky
how we loved those long and endless railings
taking our first steps high up in the air
the new grey stone still sticky underfoot
till the earth pulled us to the ground again
brought us back out on the hottest nights
aunty hasmah with her fresh bowls of ice
her kerosene lamp a lighthouse above
our heads the crowd pressed behind and all
around us the river radiant everywhere
Allegory of Rain
GE 2020
After silence, heat. And after heat it falls,
falls; will not be held against its will, drains
the sky blue. Gone from the air, its weight
takes new shape from cracks in the soil,
blunts blades of grass, by swelling in places
moves the brown earth to make a way. How
gladly it runs underfoot. Listen. On another
island which has come to silence, they say,
be like water. Here, where we once thought
the rains were scarce, we sit at round tables
and await each coming party, their clean
smiles, cameras eager as promises. What
we know, we know. Not from this sound or
fury, but a wisdom in our hands: how water
put to boil, makes the charred grounds sing.
How suddenly storms come to dance on zinc.
Theophilus Kwek has published four collections of poetry, two of which were shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. His poems, essays and translations have appeared in The Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, The London Magazine, and Mekong Review, among other publications. He has also written and researched on issues of migration and citizenship, and volunteers with NGOs supporting migrant communities in Singapore. His most recent collection, Moving House, is published by Carcanet Press in the UK.
