Singapore River by local poet, Lee Tzu Pheng
The operation was massive;
designed to give new life
to the old lady.
We have clearned out
Her arteries, removed
detritus and slit,
created a by-pass
for the old blood.
Now you can hardly tell
her history.
We have become
so health-conscious
the heart
can sometimes be troublesome.
Lee Tzu Pheng (Dr) (b. 13 May 1946, Singapore -) is considered one of Singapore’s most distinguished poets. A retired university lecturer, she is an award-winning poet who has published in anthologies and journals internationally. All her three volumes of poetry, Prospect of a Drowning (1980), Against the Next Wave (1988) and The Brink of an Amen (1991), have won the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award – From http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_447_2005-01-25.html
AddGrainOnEarth 
August 1, 2013 at 12:50 am
Lovely thoughts. have a blessed day.jalal
August 1, 2013 at 10:39 pm
Thank you, Jalal! 🙂
March 9, 2014 at 5:30 pm
I just want to ask what does the last stanza means? I’m a little bit confused
March 10, 2014 at 1:55 pm
“We have become
so health-conscious
the heart
can sometimes be troublesome.”
This means that the Singapore River has become a very clean and ‘healthy’ river but once over-enthusiastic on cleaniness, it might leads you to another issue.
This is very philosophy!
I took quite sometimes to understand too!
Thank you for sharing the same interest with me!
Have a good day! 🙂
August 1, 2013 at 2:18 am
Brilliant picture.
August 1, 2013 at 10:42 pm
Thank you! 🙂
November 18, 2013 at 2:51 pm
The poem made me nostalgic. I guess you really can never take away the past in a present, no matter how beautiful today has become. Perhaps, applicable to Singapore. We’ll all have to get back to day one somehow to appreciate what we have right now.