Written for the Lion City Slam, Oct 2014.
x
Marylyn Tan

there was a girl who responded every time to ‘kiss me.’ with
‘where?’

on the hollow of my throat.
between time and space.
at the mouth

of the Singapore river.

to this day, area around the old Singapore River mouth
remains the most expensive and economically important piece of land in singapore,
and is named the downtown core.

so whether you’re going to town or going down
on my central business district
please treat my flaws
like so much water under the bridge.
my tear ducts testify to the
transportation of water
being a nationwide worry.

I’m only drawn to rivers because
I fantasise that one day I will learn to float.
make me feel like there is wisdom in waterways.
I was born a C-section
so now I spend my life
looking for other canals
that I can pass through.

baby I will burst your banks.
we’ll show Noah what a great flood looks like.
are you the marina barrage built
at the confluence of five rivers for
water storage and recreation because
daaaaaaaaaaam.

I say, kiss me and you say, where.
on the overhead bridge, because it’s safer than the zebra crossing.
in a Tiong Bahru bar at a quarter to 1.
under the top bunk belonging to your brother.
anywhere that begins with a preposition
and ends with a proposition.
because like a shop in bugis street,
what’s most important is location.

the beginning of the Singapore river
is the end.
you must hit some kind of new low
when you vomit
into a mouth.

the loud white expats passing by
would have you believe that
in Singapore, Singapore,
you’ll find a penis
/ / /
for everyone.

so let’s go down to the riverside,
to see unforgettable sights.

because you fucking know I’ve unwillingly
seen the sun rise too many times

it doesn’t matter; from boat to clarke quay
it’s impossible to catch a taxi
from the CBD

so you might as well just