Poem(3) Composed individually based on a story of Catherine Lim's Little Ironies

Lottery

Ah Boh, who was my

domestic helper
Loved gambling on Four Digits every week
Though she bet a small amount
Every bet was a bomb which was about to explode

She had an old mother
whose bones were glass which could break any moment
she complains that Ah Boh had a good salary
yet she was not given enough
Since Ah Boh have a good salary
Then where is all the money?

For all her years of being my servant
Despite my countless reminders
of the consequences of gambling
It fell upon deaf ears

She dreamed that she could hit it big one day
So she threw in big stakes
A few small prizes did come her way
But they were used up the next day
As if the money was flying away

One day, her dead husband gave her a sign
that this was the day luck came to her side
and rushed to an accident a street away
But she was in disbelief
When her mother was there
and had died in grief

Short Commentary on Poem(3)

The theme is about I am writing is about a serf called Ah Boh who is crazy about money.She loved gambling on Four Digits and wasting her salary instead of taking care of her old mother. She was very greedy and hope that she would get more money in return. Everyone would be greedy once in a while. But Ah Boh was beyond hope. When someone got into a car accident, she would write the car number on a notepad. She is really incorrigible! Until her mother was lying on the road, river of blood flowing out of her weak body due to a car accident. Then she regretted what she had done.

I used a number of words describing what kind of person she is and what she did for all her 45 years. My poem mostly consist of rhyme. I also added similes and symbolism to make the poem interesting. Like in stanzas 1 where I typed 'Every bet was a bomb which was about to explode' and in stanzas 2 where I typed 'bones were glass which could break any moment'. They are the symbolism in my poem which give a great impact to poems.

Many of your elderly would tell you that it is best to work hard for the future and what they say is through. Only through hard work then can we earn our salary every month

Poem(2) Composed individually during Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic

HDB Cleaners


Guess what I work as
Working everyday till night
Doing the job I do not like
Picking rubbish everywhere
Sweeping void decks here and there

Cleaning kitchen waste from the chute
Cleaning and clearing dog's poop
Because I did not read my textbook pages
This is how I got low wages

I was not fed with proper nutrition
Doctor said I got malnutrition
Then I have to pay for clinical fees
And I got even thinner
This is a life of a HDB cleaner

Poem(1) Composed in a group during Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic

Group:
Jun Hao
Ee Lok
Min Feng
Elvin
Zachary
Wei Hong



Taxi Driver

No, No, No!
Not even a single hello to me
Get me there fast, I'm in a hurry
Move on, Quick!
This is all they say

Yes, Yes, Yes!
I will get you there as fast as I can
What do you take me as?
Throwing up in my cab
Making my cab smell like a polluted dam

Maybe, Perhaps, Okay!
Urgent for the toilet
Rushing for them
Bored in a cab
Pay is pathetic
But no one cares
And I have got 10 hours of my shift left to go

Hi, I am Zachary Phua. I am born in Singapore.(Obviously).Eh Haziq, stop playing lah you.Sorry, Haziq is on my right disturbing me and that Ee lok and Eugene are gonna be student councillor(Cause most of the class sabohed them).I like eating Salmon baked rice. Paing loves to hit and annoy Radi(Me too!). I also like to disturb Jun Hao, Minfeng and Elvin. Radi is worst.