Ng Yi-Sheng (b. 1980)
SELECTED POEMS
Roti Chatter
The kaya toast speaks Hainanese,
The prata knows Malay,
The mantou mumbles Mandarin and
Le croissant parle français.
Yet while the pastries jabber, their
Companion plays dumb:
You’ll hear the bread talk, but
The kopi tiam.The thosai utters Tamil,
La tortilla español,
And eloquent in German is
The crusty Kaiser roll.
Yet while the bo lo bao
Yaks Cantonese with every crumb,
You’ll hear the bread talk, but
The kopi tiam.“Don’t be so shy,” the crumpet says
In English. “Tell your story!”
The naan and the focaccia add,
“Kripya!” and “Per favore!”
Yet while you and the you zha kueh
May plead till kingdom come,
You’ll hear the bread talk, but
The kopi tiam.The pita hollers Arabic,
The fry bread Navajo,
The bagel kvetches Yiddish and
Anpan wa nihongo.
The coffee doesn’t care: he is
Contented to stay mum.
You’ll hear the bread talk, but
The kopi tiam.
by Ng Yi-Sheng
from SingPoWriMo 2017: The Anthology (2017)
