51

The thing about birthdays is, time
- in all its fleetingness - heaves to a halt
and stops to smile; an aesthete pausing
to admire a painting in a museum of
memories we hold onto by the string of
a kite performing pirouettes in the weighty air.

Birthdays are, to too many people,
a lesson in the art of appreciating the ones
we too often fail to appreciate;
celebrating the triumphs
we too often sour with defeats.

But you can't do justice to a cup of ice lemon tea
without a piece of lemon.

.

Your birthday bash will be back at the Kallang this year - I hope
you still remember those times, even if
it's now a dome that we can't really call a
home; an architectural feat to behold, yet
one without a
soul
Is the grass greener there?

Tonight we shall sing for you,
all 5 million of us, and
25 in Brazil will wonder
who will sing for them. They will

run, jump and fight

for you

They may even watch you - yes,
you and your birthday bash, but
you will not watch them.
They may be in Rio
but there is to be no Redeeming.

You're in a mid-life crisis.
An ecosystem of tastes, ebbing
away - you see, it takes more than
six letters to spell 'hawker'.
A heartland wonderland, where
kids come and play - football
and catching into the dark of day.
But it is no more; today you build barriers
yesterday it was the railings
- how long before you stop
voiding the void in our decks?

I'd like to think that when we age
we leave a part of ourselves behind -
a morsel of the birthday cake
left uneaten, a crumb
carried away by the ants
into holes we cannot see,
spaces we cannot enter.

You're still the same, yet not
quite the same; you're a flapping bird
in an endless game. You try to paint
your feathers here and there:
a ferris wheel, a casino,
and the lavish marriage of nature
and the man-made, where trees
can feel more super than they already
are. Lewis Hamilton will tear the streets. Some
even say you've put on a short skirt and bought
a pair of Oakleys you thought you'd look
good in. But what if I told you that
it's okay to grey, that when the tides
come in and the Merlion has had
its laugh, I don't expect to see a
fifteen-minute fireworks display.
What if I told you that it's actually a pity
that people come from all over the world, and
they board the Flyer, as if they can
see the real you from up there. All I'm saying is,
don't try to be something
you are
naught.

And I know I'll grumble, l'll tempt -

no, test

the line your Father drew in the

Changi sand. I'll curse myself for 

knowing you, for writing to you at all. But

I also know that when all is said and done,

that when the bright lights and awe-ful
sights have had their say, you are still
that crescent moon that follows me in the car.

In a chorus of 'lahs' and 'lehs' I find the you
I know - not a hipster hyperbole but a
no-nonsense nanny
not a H&M human Christmas tree but a
discount-preying
4D-praying
parking coupon-strategising
queue-curious
bee hoon loon on
a daily prescription of Yakult.

You are the number one of
number ones
or at least you try to be;
fyi, NUS is top in Asia,
which is, frankly, not surprising, given
their avant-garde orientation camps.
On to the more obscene,
let's see whose neighbourhood can
put up the most flags.

Speaking of flags - you are the
commuter-harassing
tin can-juggling
uniformed student
with the kempt haircut
and "non-striking" shoes - that is,
if there's a good reason it's called "Flag Day"
and shoes could actually go on strike.
(SMRT can help with that)

Like all middle-aged souls
you are desperately trying to find
yours, only,
you don't have to.
You don't have to identify
your identity or define
what defines you
because you just are.

Alpinists never use the word 'conquer'
so please don't climb the mountain to get
to the top
climb it
because it is there.

You may have put on shades.
You may have dyed your hair.
But
You are still that crescent moon that follows me in the car.
Only a slender crescent, yet
ever so
whole.

--
First time writing in free verse on here so please let me know what you think...

P.S. Sorry, the stanza on Team Singapore at the Rio Olympics was written before Mediacorp announced its last-minute deal with rights holders to broadcast the Games 'live'.