Land of Mirrors

The land of mirrors,
all shapes and sizes, all giving reflections.
Giving the image you want to project,
while the real you lurks behind the mirror.

In the land of mirrors,
the young girls preen and position themselves
before the powers that be.
Preen and position as they climb the ladders,
even when they are old.

The ambitious ones,
pretend to be the angelic ones,
vying for the attention of the powers.
As they gain power, rounder and rounder, they grow.
Further and further they go, for conferences they say.
Their footprints seen in the luxury houses of the world.

Back home, the powers rest, oblivious to falsities,
for flattered they are by shallow compliments, hollow work.
The powers, they bask in the fake compliments,
yet their hands tainted, by silence, equal to endorsement.
... and in downing the institutions.

The Carpet

The Carpet

Strong and uniquely beautiful.

Oh so soft, but unappreciated.

Its understated elegance unseen,

mistaken for washed-out colours.

The Carpet

So resilient, yet so weak.

Its "heart" weakened,

hurt that its nobleness unappreciated.

When will the experts come

and appreciate its beauty?

From Flat to House

Growing up in a two-room flat,
family in one bedroom,
with one living room cum dining room.
Big though they be, by normal standards.
Facing a common corridor,
squealing kids, human traffic along the corridor,
inconsiderate neighbours and their friends
smoking and talking into the night,
right outside our bedroom lourvred windows.

From primary, to secondary, to junior college days.
The first MRT being constructed over the years,
intense noise, dust, right at our door-step.

The old but hallowed halls of Raffles Girls,
and National Junior College, the first JC,
Top schools opened to all, based on merit.

Armed with good university degree,
a good and stable job.
And masters in Ivy League Northwestern University,
that one never thought one visit, much less study in.

Then chance to own a small piece of landed property,
newly built intermediate terrace,  soon after the Gulf War.

From two-room HDB flat
to landed property,
all possible because of good governance,
because of foresight, good planning.
A leap through the socio-economic groups.

Thank you, Mr Lee Kuan Yew!  Thank you!

Fare Thee Well, Our Revered Founding Father

Shade from the trees, flowering shrubs lining the roads.
Clean water, potable straight from the tap.
Electricity that's always on.

From Sir Stamford Raffles' entrepot,
to today's bustling hub and international financial hub.
Buildings, from functional
to internationally award-winning.
Homes to house a nation.

Challenges he threw ...
... clean up the (smelly filthy) Singapore River!
Today, a clean river with water activities we're proud of!

From nothing he built ...
a swamp to today's bustling Jurong, and many more.
From an island doomed to fail
to today's Singapore,
the little red dot that stands strong and tall
on the global stage.

With education for all, including girls,
far-sighted, levelling up the cohorts of children,
winners at international competitions and grading exercises.
With scholarships and bursaries,
generations of young seek knowledge
in the hallowed halls of Cambridge/Oxford/Imperial College,
MIT/Harvard and other such international institutions.
Leaders they return,
climbing up the socio-economic ladder,
improving the lot of their families,
doing good for others and Singapore.

A multi-racial society, multi-religious society.
Faultlines a-plenty.
From the national pledge by Mr Rajaratnam,
to policies taking into consideration minorities,
many safeguards,
all to keep the communal harmony and social resilience.

And many more.
As former Minister George Yeo said,
for Mr Lee Kuan Yew's legacy, look around you.
Yes, indeed.
Look around you, and at yourselves.

Our steadfast beacon is gone.
But he lives ... in the legacy he leaves behind,
and in us, whom he invested all his life.

Rest in peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Thank you.

Words aren't enough to express our gratitude to you and your pioneering team of leaders.
We will continue investing in the legacy,
our common legacy,
for us, and for those after us.
Long live Singapore!  Long live the indomitable spirit of Mr Lee Kuan Yew!

_____________________________________

Passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, founding Prime Minister of Singapore

The Prime Minister is deeply grieved to announce the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore. Mr Lee passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 3.18am. He was 91.

Arrangements for the public to pay respects and for the funeral proceedings will be announced later. 

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
23 MARCH 2015

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/passing-mr-lee-kuan-yew-founding-prime-minister-singapore

Tumultous Weather

After a period of hot, really hot, weather,  it rained.
Very heavily.
Cats and dogs.

Thunder and lightning as well.
Very loud, very fierce.
Bang, bang, bang, it thundered above.
Conjuring images of the gods battling above,
like in the Chinese mythological movies.

Were they arguing and fighting?
Over whether our revered leader should go?
One more year, says one.
No more! Says another.

Is that what happened?

The shopaholic melts

Tis one day before Lunar New Year's eve.
Tis two days before the eve.
Time on my hands, and right there in Orchard Road.

Yet no urge to go shopping ...
New clothes - checked.
New shoes - checked.
New bags - checked.
New accessories - nah.
New year goodies?  Nah.  Bloated at the thought.

Perhaps it's the intense heat.
That melted the shopaholic in me.

Happy Lunar New Year!  May we have a peaceful and prosperous year of the Goat!

Climb every Hill

The Old Woman stood at the top of a small hill (that barely made it to be called such).
Looking back at the haphazard paths,
the less equipped barns,
the barn hands with a different set of skills.
With satisfaction, she beamed.
For despite it all, despite the narrow time window,
the first milestone, the first hill - however small - has been reached.

The Old Woman stopped and rested for a while,
taking in the scenery at the little hill,
taking a photo or two for her Facebook timeline,
her Pinterest boards, Instagram and all.

Then up she stood,
full of resolution and determination,
looking ahead to the next hill,and the one after,
each a bit higher, each one different.

And off she went, walking swiftly.
For there's much more still to be done,
much more to be overcome.

The Jittery Bumble Bee

The little bumble bee, so sweet in its yellow and black stripes.
The little bumble bee,
ever so busy, buzzing here, buzzing there.

The little bumble bee,
oh so easily excited,
flying back and forth with news,
some half-baked, some alarming,
spreading jitters inside the honeycomb.

The little bumble bee,
so excited over the naming of the honeycomb,
working its little bee body out,
preparing and preparing for the occasion.
Oh this, oh that,
and so it goes,
spreading more jitters among the bee colony,
resonance escalating to earthquake portions.

Took the little bumble bee aside,
the old worker bee chief did.
Trying to calm it down.

Peace for a while as everyone went about the work quietly.
Soon the little bumble bee was raring to go.
The older bees heaved a sigh, and in unison,
popped anti-jitter honey-laced pills.

The big day dawned and all went well.
The little bumble bee was happy  that all's well.
So were the rest of the bee colony.

Ten-five

A decade and a half.
For 15 years, the old woman in the shoe, lived in the shoe house,
bringing up a family of young ones.

The old woman looked at the shoe house ...
brimming over with memories.
Of battles fought,  of lessons learnt.
Of heartache and pain.
Of crises, raising the threshold each time.
Of strategic moves, that bore fruit, winning quiet victories.
Of joy and pride, as the young ones grew up,
as they take on leadership.

The old woman hung up her apron.
Time to go for cruise,
to different waters.

The old woman rolled her suitcase to the waiting horse-cart...
...  so  long, farewell!
Auf wiedersehn!

Crossing the Irrawaddy

Feb 10,  1999.  Rustic setting.
Squirrels scampering up the trees.
Old buildings, old furniture.
Long narrow staircase up, to the echelons of power.

Nov 2001.  A new building.
Two towers, twin towers,
a description we soon shuddered over.

The same door, the same door handle.
The same carpet, vacuumed many times over.

The  window view,
changing over the decade.
One a new building, we half-believed, that blocked our luck,
and turned our fortunes.

A  cuppa,  gourmet coffee at that.
At corner corner, aptly named Hi Cafe!

Many an event planned, and executed successfully,
amidst lights and cosy chatter, among polite company.

A decade and a half.  A time of change.

The bear remains, a beacon of comfort.
The guardian angel remains, to do her job.
And so too the girl figurine  with Best Wishes,
the weight balance with the Turkish eye.
All remain, to give moral support.

And as SUnny Bear waves,
May the team grow from  strength to strength,
a rock of resilience, undeterred by challenges!