Robert Yeo (b. 1940)
SELECTED POEMS
Dream
Bold only in conception, barren otherwise.
On impulse, random schemes will sprout
Only to spend themselves wilting. Some are
Stillborn. A few survive precariously
Watered by time that ought to tick elsewhere.
Or drift from chick to chick like some anxious
Adolescent when he should have given up
Long ago to become complacent cock
To a real hen and her brood of chickens,
Responsive daily to her regular chick.If all that was for a good cause, for art
Say, all right. Then perhaps he could try
To justify what productivity so far
By dreaming of fame, of posterity even.
But here, where the patrons of art are
non-Singaporeans mostly, where exhibitions
Tend to be social events first, where
Many are sold on gracious living, but what
They buy are houses, chit funds, Toyotas…
If you must dream, then start by waking up
by Robert Yeo
from The Best of Robert Yeo (2012)
