Poems

Poems EAE Portfolio By: Oh Jing Xuan



Contents Freedom---------------------------------- (4) Afterword on Freedom----------- (5) Poverty----------------------------------- (6) Afterword on Poverty------------ (7) Sunrise------------------------------------ (8) Afterword on Sunrise------------- (9) You’ve Done Well---------------------- (10) Afterword on You’ve Done Well- (12)

Freedom A beat no more, A life lost, A family’s cry rang into nothingness, As he, Climbed up the stairs to eternal peace. Wings spread, Burdens and worries gone, As he float up into the skies and the stars. “I will come to you like the first snow, I will come to you like the rain that screams your name” The chains that held him, The sadness he had kept all these years, The weight that had carried with him for life, All gone and turned to ashes, As the light at the end of the tunnel had became brighter, And he went into eternal freedom.

Afterword on Freedom I have written this poem as a mini competition with my Mother’s colleague, Uncle Johnny. We decided on the theme of freedom and “competed” to see whose poem is more “competent”. The idea of freedom to me somewhat either relates to schooling or the final moments before someone’s demise. Feeling that schooling was too anti-climatic, I decided that this poem was to describe the moment before death. Since we do not really know what happens to one after death, unless you were revived, or you are a zombie, I figured to imagine what it would be like: Enlightenment? Cursed? Or nothing really happens after death? In this poem, I talked about freedom as a sense of enlightenment as we spread our invisible wings up to heaven or nirvana. Being released from the hells of the Earth and ascending to highest heavens, attaining peace. The woes and burdens that this man once kept, when he was on Earth, are now nothing but whispers of the once moving body. There was a line, “I will come to you like the first snow” which was a famous line from my favourite Korean drama: Goblin, starring Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun, and many different talents. This line was really affectionate to me, and in this poem, it shows that the man was finally with his long beloved. Coming “home” and having a lifelong peace with his beloved. I hope that this poem can allow others to cherish their family and their friends to the fullest extent. Because all things won’t last, they eventually have to leave at some point, including people. We come, we go. Although people will have to go at some point, the only things that last are memoirs. That is why we ought to appreciate and cherish those around us. ~

Poverty The rural land is all I seek, The scarred land full of shed. Crops yield, farms grow, The land is full of colours of gold. Factories grow, Expand, expand, expand. Money owed, Debt, debt, debt. Farmer back, Doubt, doubt, doubt. Doubt about fair in yields of growth Health and wealth issues help, Health declines, Wealth inclines. When will this cycle end? A vicious cycle that poverty ends.

Afterword on Poverty This poem was recently done as my friend’s tuition homework. She hopes that I could help her construct a poem in a few minutes, since most of my friends are very last minute beggars. Since time was not really on my side, I typed out what I could possibly be considered “acceptable” to them. Of course, this poem was definitely unpolished and slightly haphazard, but what could I do? I could not reject an offer to improve my English. Either way, this poem is about the industrialisation in rural areas worldwide. Companies are selling big while the farmers are getting less money than expected. A place once with luscious rice paddies and greenery all around, are now converted to factories as the farmers become slaves to their own crops. No yield, no money, no food. That is the drudgery that these poor farmers have to condone throughout their lives. That is why; I hope this poem can inculcate values of appreciation and humbleness. We live in a prestigious and well-off country; we should not waste a single grain of rice that was showered with labour and hard work of the farmers. From young, we were taught to finish every single grain of rice, “So that you won’t have an ugly boyfriend!” or “So that your face won’t have pimples!” of some sort. Even up to now, I still kept that habit of finishing every grain, not because of beauty, but because I’m hungry. Either way, I was appreciative of the rice that was given to me by sheer hard work and perseverance, and I hope the readers will too! ~

Sunrise The peak of dawn broke free, Speckles of rays shot through, Through the cloudless sky, And into the frames of the young and old, As they were forced out of their heaven comfort, They reluctantly swore at the Sun, But who is to blame the power of the almighty? No one, no one at all.

Afterword on Sunrise This poem was the very first poem I have ever written in primary school. Since I was often dejected and lonely in primary school, I usually despised the sun for dragging my lazy bum to school. Perhaps you could say that “They” involves me too. I am sure every reader hates getting up early to get to work. Sunrise is often a time of grumpiness and Monday blues. But yet, we cannot stop time nor can we stop the sun from demoralising our moods. We just have to deal with it and go on with our day. This poem relatively implies to just on with our days, even during our worst moments. We have to keep moving in order to assimilate with time. ~

“You’ve Done Well” He was always told to do things their way, Never a chance to say for himself, Whatever mistake comes his way, It was always recorded and posted. That sadness behind that smile, Those promises that cannot be kept, The loneliness he had, Were all kept in a dark corner. Until they say he had to sing for a special person as his last, Without knowing, he sang out a longing ballad, A ballad that left everyone in shock, A ballad that warmed the hearts of everyone, The ballad who made that special person fall into tears of love, joy, sadness and emotions. She stumbled towards him and fell into his embrace,

Hearing that beat that protrudes out of his chest, She whimpered out, “You’ve… Done…Well…” As she collapsed to the ground, Everything stopping to an unexpected halt.

Afterword on You’ve Done Well This poem came from sad news I have heard back then. This poem’s beginning came from a suicide from a Korean group’s member. Kim Jonghyun from SHINee. He was depressed and overly stressed about his incompetence in music. Hence, he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his apartment. In his last few songs, there was a line that stood out to many fans: You’ve done well, hence the title. He hopes that his fans can acknowledge themselves and not judge themselves based on their “lacklustre” talents or “atrocious” beauty. Regardless, he was trying to tell himself that too. Unfortunately, he could not cope with the overwhelming burden and hence, he sought for peace. In this poem, I changed the storyline to a boy who dared to dream but yet, he was depressed about being forced around everything. The only person who knew about his emotions was his Mother. However, his Mother was down with a severe illness and was hospitalised. Despite doctor’s orders, his Mother went to his concert. At the last song, she could not stand it any longer and wanted so desperately to comfort him. “You’ve done well”, giving the boy assurance before her body fails to keep up. This poem was really sad since I realised many teenagers fail to acknowledge their special talents and accolades. Hence, looking up to influencers, wanting what they want, without realising how much they actually have within themselves. Therefore, we should accept who we are as different individuals with unique attributes, stepping into the world as people of talents. ~