Koh Buck Song (b. 1963)

1. BIOGRAPHY

2. CRITICAL INTRODUCTION

3. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

4. SELECTED POEMS

• A Brief History of Toa Payoh

• Wayang Kulit

• Moose-Hunting, Canadian Rockies

• Close Quarters, Chinatown

• The Fragrance of Lallang

• Corridor, Bukit Merah

• Merlion: Strike One

• “shoring” Singapore

SELECTED POEMS

“shoring” Singapore

“temporary support”, in construction
jargon, but a permanent foundation
buffering this interface: each conquest
redrawing boundaries, layers; fresh bequest
redistributing earth from other banks;
Padang relaid after flags, fireworks, tanks;
as mandates, visions, plans reconfigure,
“son of the soil” becomes a metaphor

who knows what other shorelines might await;
which realignments fit for open trade,
how higher tidelines can be redrafted
for, on revamped drawing boards, as crafted
bay, downtown, herald a brighter future:
this shifted, shifting city in nature

by Koh Buck Song
from the world anew: Poetry and Haiga Inspired by Art in Pandemic Times (2023)

BIOGRAPHY >