Goodbye

This time-
I won’t cry, I won’t sigh
I’ll give in, I’ll let her win
I’ll be strong, she can have everything.
Because a dozen a dime, and
You were never worth the time.

I waited- but where did you go?
I tolerated- but what did I get?
I compromised- but did it work?
I trusted- but it was betrayed.

I was happy, smiled genuinely
I was naive, thought you were my only
I believed, had faith that
you wouldn’t double-deal.

But I was wrong.
Should have listened to friends,
Should have believed them
like how I believed you.
I was wrong- I admit,
it was my mistake.

Lies upon lies,
Countless tales you fabricate just
like how the spider spins its webs.
You got so good at it,
got me believing them time
after time, got me deceived
just like preys of sticky webs-

Stuck, struggling,
and suffocating.
Untruths and truths, I can’t
tell them apart anymore.
This is the pain of naivety, and
it tears apart the heart’s flesh.

I won’t cry, I’ll wipe my tears dry
I won’t fight, I’ll let her win
I won’t be put down, I’ll be strong-
I’ll grit my teeth, I’ll move on.

Hee Biling Dawn
3 Grace

Looking back

When it’s all still so vivid,
It hurts looking back.
Looking back so many times,
Tears just sting my eyes.
Wishing to go back to what we use to be,
Even knowing it’s never possible.
Fighting the tears of long ago, I try to move on,
Knowing that all you want is for me to be happy.
Try as I may,
You will always be the biggest treasure in my life,
The best thing that has ever happen to me…
I will always love you.

Averil Lee
4I

The moment I set eyes on you
I loved you.

You were brought home a tiny baby;
With everyone crowding over you
Maybe you got more attention
You were the limelight, I knew.

I could still vividly remember
Your first touch,
Seeing your first smile,
Your first hug,
Hearing your first word.

You started going to school;
Making friends and getting homework
You came back bubbly and happy
But at times, you came home upset.

I could not help you much,
But I welcomed you at home.
I wanted you to see that sparkle in my eye
So I could see your own.

I could still vividly remember
Your everyday tummy rubs,
Your secret extra biscuits,
Your conversations,
Your everyday walks.

You got your first part-time job,
You were fifteen.
I only saw you through the first week,
So I don’t remember everything.

I could still vividly remember
Your first day at work,
You came home tired but proud,
You made my day too.

I tried to jump on your lap but couldn’t,
I tried to make my eyes sparkle but failed,
I looked at you with love in my eyes,
I knew, I was going soon.

You took me through my last moments,
With tears in your eyes
I knew how much you loved me,
I knew I love you as much too.

Time went past fast with your company,
Perhaps I was too tired
But I was happy with you beside me
I smiled to myself, did you see?

The moment I closed my eyes,
I still loved you.

Cheng Jia Ying

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned

Timeless and spaceless
Millenniums go by.
No beginning no start
And thee would have thought once bitten twice shy

Outside, temptress beneath
Sly grew not shroud.
Four times before fall
Slashed and sold to envious hands of the blasphemous and proud

Egyptian goddess of Sun
Enticed by white blood.
Her mighty downfall
Last glance at poisonous viper before the Romans flood

Into massacred thousands
Over Eastern mountains died.
Masquerade of Adam’s clothing
Headstrong in her Father’s honour and Motherland’s pride

Is unwanted where God was
As Man’s words spoke evil.
Led Holy fight in His name
Even as tongues of fire consumed her raped and curled

Body burned or hanged
No escaping death’s claws.
Integrity above succumbing
To the rigid majority culture of hallucination over reality

Was marriage and family
Imagination an endless maze.
Trade a parasol for a musket
When life was a sea scavenger’s swashbuckling vessel always

A warrior embedded deep
Native lines ran long.
Spears against rifles
Colonialism was but a troublesome stranger fought till gone

Were sunshine daydream
All was fear and death.
A living breathing nightmare
Yet she followed him dutifully to her very last breath

Through the history worn ages
So see the forgotten and the mourned.
The respected and the remembered
Did Scarlett’s words ring true that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?

Valerie Champion
4J

2nd stanza: Delilah (Famous biblical figure as the one who deceived Samson into telling her the secret of his strength).
3rd stanza: Cleopatra (Egyptian queen famous for her affair with Roman soldiers Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony).
4th stanza: Hua Mulan (Chinese women warrior who disguised herself as a man to fight in her Father’s place in the Emperor’s royal army against the Mongols).
5th stanza: Joan of Arc (French girl who sacrificed her life for her religion).
6th stanza: Women slain during the late 1600s Salem Witch Trials.
7th stanza: Grace O’Malley (Dubbed ‘Pirate Queen’ of the Irish seas).
8th stanza: Lozen (Fought in the Apache wars; Native Indian tribe of Chihenne-Chiricahua Apache against the European colonials of the 1800s in North America).
9th stanza: Eva Braun (Adolf Hitler’s mistress and later wife, shortly before both committed suicide).
10th stanza: Scarlett O’Hara (Fictional character in “Gone With The Wind”, most famous for the line “Hell Hath No Fury Like A Women Scorned”).

Four million strong, a nation to behold
A soaring city with its wings unfold
A kaleidoscope of cultures;
Coloured grass
The harmony of different colours that will us

One voice!
Soar as one
We’re proud to say
Through turmoil we have undergone day by day
A nation in harmony,
Respect for different races
Pictures holding hands;
With bright smiling faces

Are we really living in harmony?
Or just simply tolerance?
Are we really bonded?
Or is it just a mere act?
Are we just keeping mum?
Afraid to be defiant?
Are these just questions?
Or are they facts?

Faeezah
3G

The tall skyscrapers behind
Bring us nowhere back in time
It seems so modern but in memories we trace
Then-an old sunny island,
Now-with buildings that amaze

But there were no memories of the old
The only history were the stories that were told
And past down by generations from the old to the new
But it is sad to say it is passed on to but a few

It is no longer unique;
Just like any other country
It turns into an urbanized city,
Much like the rest
The east and the Asians in us had been missing
But no one notices from the start till the day rests

Gone were the old wooden huts
Or children playing in puddles of mud
When the old is gone what will be told?
Which kind of memory will each one hold?

Will you remember the bustling city and
The fats paced life that leaves you busy?
Or a slower more peaceful part of life
Indulging what’s left in the sunrise
Of a very different Singapore

Nurul Freda Jamaluddin
3 Grace

That Love

Once a broken dream,
A wasted love it was,
Left unclear and lost in the mist.
Never intend to look back,
For the past need not be rewritten.
Broken lies and the insecurity I had,
Make me never dare stray too far again.
I saw you struggling back,
You held on to all that you’re left with,
Promise to find back what you lose.
I turned away from you,
For I’ve forgotten all that is mine,
The feelings will be gone in no time,
It’s just a game of two I lost,
After the fall I’ll be standing once more,
Through the rain I’ll become stronger.
Back then I used to cry alone,
Shedding tears which are never of worth.
Since then time healed the wounds,
I’m all ready to start anew.
Now half a year had passed,
You still cling onto the love we knew,
I could not deny what I know,
Your feelings for me now are true.
I know somewhere in my heart,
I still miss the way we loved,
And all we used to be.
I took all I had and followed my heart,
Believed once more,
Trust you with all that I’ve got.
Gave you a chance,
You took my hand.
Together we seem like we’ll never part,
Hand in hand we’ll cross the line,
Till eternity you’ll still be mine.
Right now we had beat the phrase,
“Never meant to be” was never you or mine.
Because baby we’ll make it if we’re heart to heart,
Keep my heart close to you,
Even when the stars collide,
Together we’ll see it through.
Just you and me this time round,
We’ll stay unbreakable,
Fate got us going on,
Love leads us to forever.

Chua MinPei
3G

Paradise in Class

The sun shone
Spilling light all over the land.
The red velvet curtains opened
The sunlight revealing a familiar face
Billy, my butler.
“Morning” was all he said.

I walked out.
Out of my Beverly Hills mansion.
My Louis Vuittion bag clutched in one hand.
Shopping was the only thing that came to my mind.

2 pairs of Jimmy Choos
1 pair of Christian Louboutins.
3 Chanel dresses.
And a rhinestone covered blackberry.
Was all I bought.

Next stop…
“Ring…Ring…Ring!!”
Goes that well-known bell
“Go for your next class.”
Was the next thing I heard.
Realizing I dozed off,
I ran out of class for the next lesson.
To continue my paradise in class hallucination.

Debbie Chan
3J

Walk In her Shoes

It’s so hurtful what you do to her
But you think it isn’t.
You judge whenever she sheds a tear
even though you don’t know the reason.

Are you so shallow?
Are your hearts so small and hollow?
Think about what you do
because one day, it may come back to you.

Don’t cry out then, because no one will hear you calling.
Think about how horrible you have been
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find like she did
The Strength Within

Her life’s not a fairytale; she feels that she often fails
Her confidence is low, but does anyone of you know?
She tries to be nice but even then you despise
You can’t see the good, only the bad

I don’t know if you’ll understand the lonely past she’s had.
Excuse me for speaking up, my words are not mend to offend
But the message I send is the hope you will understand.

Look deeper than the surface and put yourself in her place
At this age it’s not easy being alone, taking on the world on your own
We may all feel it one day and only then will we understand
Why she felt that way.

Nicole Samuel
3J

Lessons

Lessons are very important.
Water in our mind’s drains
Stir up the fluff in them,
Which we call our brains.

English teaches us words,
Which we will rarely use,
Mother Tongue is mumbo jumbo,
Upon which we muse.

Science is just so factual,
It is an awful bore,
History is about dead people,
Rotten to the core

How is geography useful?
Do we rattle off the maps?
PE is not something to mess with,
After ten rounds, all collapse.

Art is such sketchy fun,
An outlet for our Picasso,
And literature is analyzing,
Books, plays, so and so…

This is the end of the poem,
I think I’ve written awful guff,
Looking at it, I realize,
Lessons are very different stuff.

Janani 3G

Rose

You were my friend,
You were mine.
And I knew all your fears

Such joy to hold you in my arms,
And kiss away all your tears

Now you’re gone
There’s only pain
The cold metal sinks into my flesh,
And hot blood flows down my arm again

I feel all empty
Like there’s no beating heart
All is numb
And like just sucks

I cry silently,
Under the thick covers.
I lie

There was nothing I could do
Nothing
Just watched you withering away,
Like a dying rose,
In your numbered days.

I don’t want to live this life
If I can’t live for you
Cross my heart,
I’ll die with you.

Lilian Huang
3G

She’s Just Nine

The door creaked opened.
Slowly,
he walked in.
‘Ah…finally asleep.’
He whispered with glee.
He walked towards the girl.
the girl who calls him ‘Father.”’
He bent forward,
swept her blanket away.
‘Now, it is the time to strike.’
She’s just nine.

She jerked awake.
Sniffed out a familiar scent.
‘Don’t be afraid, my girl,’
‘I’m doing this cos’ I love you.’
The pervert whispered in her ear.
‘What is daddy doing?’
She just knew she didn’t like the feeling.
She’s just nine.

‘He is doing this every night!’
‘I told him I didn’t like it!’
Whatever happened to the teddy bears from him?
Now all she gets are
punches and kicks.
‘Mummy didn’t believe me,’
she is behind him.’
She stared at the ceiling after it is all over.
Tears trickled down her naked body.
A strange body she no longer recognized,
a body with fresh bruises and wounds.
Not only physical wounds.
She knows all will repeat itself again.
Like always.
She has to endure this all alone for now.
All by herself.
But…
She’s just nine.

Jaime Wong
4H

Singapore

Singapore Singapore,
Clean and green.
But under that exterior,
Lies tears and grief.
Cold-blooded murders,
Here head there toe;
Body parts lying around-
Just for show.

With the General Elections coming,
Expected, are the rallies.
The politicians fight for Constituencies,
And they win, though barely.
The stakes are set,
Emotions run high.
The intense nervousness,
The results at night.

Electronic voting or the manual way,
It doesn't matter-
For it’s all the same.
You choose someone that you like,
You cast your vote,
With many other people,
In the same boat.

So this is how I see my country,
Though its not necessarily just that.
I like its tropical weather, its landmarks,
not to mention the many stray cats.
But in spite of the bad,
There's always the good.
My dear, dear Singapore?
Has delicious food.

Samantha Sng
3 Grace

Singapore

I'm just a sophomore, livin' in Singapore,
and I can tell you, how my best home looks like.

Rojak; Singapore's a multi-racial place.
So many people, no matter the race or faith,
caring smiles they put on their faces.
There are so many things you can explore,
and I could be your tour guide, for the day.

Random breakdances at the Esplanade,
plays they have that blow your mind away.
Take a sunny ride down to Sentosa,
Experience Island Life, feel the heat.
Night life, just a step away,
frequents at clubs, pubs and the kopitiams.
Break to dawn, the people get up,
go to school, rush for work.
Some puts on a face in their neat Army uniforms,
a smart frown, built muscles.
Passing cars and motorcycles,
polluting the country with this odour.
I take a bus down to school,
people squeezing, out on the loose.
Off the bus, down I go,
clean and green campaigns all over.
They read, "Do not litter, do not spit",
kiasu Singaporeans, they willingly heed.
I hear the fighter planes, they fly past the school.
"ROARRRRR", the engine screams.
And I know, I'm always safe and sound,
with the police, out on guard.
I always go to sleep at ease,
not forgetting it's Singapore I'm in.

This is the place, where the typical people rush for free gifts.
This is the place, where people had won SARS in a big feat.
This is the place, smallest in the world, with an advanced peak.
And I'd say, this is forever the place, I'd wanna stay in.
Simple yet hectic, this Singapore city.
I swear on it, this is the best place anyone could be in.

Sheryl Yeo
3 Grace

Inked Thrills

The words you use today have been estranged,
insignificant to this love.
Yes, and I can see the dying, this moaning, the weeping.
Saint Valentine, I feel a trait of a trend in love.
Why do you make this vision, so unclear.
I feel this foul setting in,
It pricks, it hurts, it's killing me.
I can feel like I'm setting foot on dry ice.
Yes, the pain of a torment, a sin,
the numbness, the smooth friction,
all so much for contradiction, the paradoxical stories.
The pressure lurks, you can feel it bite.
Yes, pain, the pressure,
You want to kill, yet the target's you.
Madness, yes it is, so much I get for these little things I do.
I will put up a fight,
for the day, for the lesson of the week.

Sheryl Yeo
3 Grace