ALWCA: politically correct
this was the poem that got published in the 2014 poetry anthology A Luxury We Cannot Afford, edited by Joshua Ip and Christine Chia!! please buy the anthology if you can :> you can head over here to buy it for S$19!! (bit pricey I know but hey I don't make the rules) (I really don't)
he savours
the taste of the
words on his
tongue-
sugar-coated extravagance,
chocolate fondue,
opulent red wine;
but too much sugar ruins you.
and poetry, he tells himself,
is not pragmatic:
not the sharp bite of the economy,
the crunch of success,
the gristle of globalisation.
this is not what they need.
so he takes a deep breath.
steps onto the podium.
counts to three,
and swallows.
he savours
the taste of the
words on his
tongue-
sugar-coated extravagance,
chocolate fondue,
opulent red wine;
but too much sugar ruins you.
and poetry, he tells himself,
is not pragmatic:
not the sharp bite of the economy,
the crunch of success,
the gristle of globalisation.
this is not what they need.
so he takes a deep breath.
steps onto the podium.
counts to three,
and swallows.