A Singapore Diary: Part II
A water bottle is abandoned on a rail inside a lift. Did a child do this to see if it could lie there comfortably, and then was rushed out by an unwitting adult once the doors opened? Would a harried parent be upset on discovering the bottle gone? Would anyone pick it up and reuse it or dispose of it? Would the bottle be returned to the child eventually? Or would a small figure somewhere be slumped over, dejected at its loss?
A sinuous line of brown flecks on this column is all that remains of a climbing vine that was pulled off by a cleaner. It astonishes me how the climber could have even established itself on a flat surface. And it was even tenacious enough to leave traces of its roots on the paint!
I like seeing its path towards the light. It didn’t make it, but I will remember its attempt.
Squares of vibrant green in the midst of buildings lie fallow. Every few months, a man comes to mow the grass. Any stray seedling that might take root and turn open ground into an untamed heath is cut down. The wild must be kept at bay because this land is marked for greater things—a future school, more housing, a potential hospital.
Stepping onto the field feels rather like trespassing. Only the brave wander in to fly a kite or kick a ball about. Usually, such places are left alone. Everyone seems to know that they are not for the people, even though there are no fences or signs. We leave them for the birds to work over, searching for worms. We stick to the grey pavements that skirt round these patches. At some appointed time, the heavy machinery will arrive, the hoardings will go up, and the land will be green no more.
And you tell me there’s nothing to write about, that life
has handed you a blank sheet and you’re just waiting in line
to pay up and get out. You could even be right. Maybe this is
all there is: moving on, moving up, a queue line
of souls waiting for checkout and proceeding to wherever.
From Alvin Pang, ‘What to Write About in Cold Storage,* Circa 2000 AD,’ City of Rain.
*Cold Storage is the name of Singaporean supermarket chain.
