Wiring Heartlands

Creative Arts Programme 2007

Old connections
Of dust and spider webs
Of black and white TVs
Of neighbors playing mah-jong
Of children trying to steal fruit from
Mango trees

Old connections
Of smiling faces in sepia-toned photographs
Of cheongsams, saris and baju-kurongs
Of French lace (on special occasions)
And the thinly-veiled (by a smile) regret of arranged marriages

Swept away
By new inventions

HDB
Gate locked, doors closed
TV blaring inside
Color true as life.

What of life?
Faded, black and white, secluded
Under harsh flourescent lights
Blast of air-conditioner
Renders society cold.

Unlike before, no-one
Really talks to their neighbors.

New pseudo-connections
Of TV, radio and the Internet
Of video games and action movies (in HD TV, no less)
Of bikinis and miniskirts
Of the working man at rush hour
Jostling others without a care

New pseudo-connections
Of divorces; disconnection
Of materialism, "kiasuism"
Of fancy cosmetics and perfumes (the chemicals suck life dry)
Of teenagers bogged down with schoolwork
And their own unwarranted angst.

Cobwebs
Are fragile.