In this piece, Goh Poh Seng moves away from the sweeping political anxieties of a nascent Singapore and zooms in on the tactile, the immediate, and the organic. "Fruits" is not merely a description of garden produce; it is a meditation on memory, the passage of time, and the deep-seated connection between the land and the self. The Sensory Landscape of the Poem
Goh Poh Seng employs a range of poetic devices to create a rich and evocative poem. Some of the notable devices include: fruits poem by goh poh seng
: The fruit is viewed as an achievement—a "miraculous completeness". This mirrors the human experience of working through struggles to eventually reach a state where one can "give so delightfully" of themselves to others. In this piece, Goh Poh Seng moves away
But notice the tension. The very lushness is excessive, almost desperate. It is the extravagance of a feast held on the eve of a siege. The poem’s true subject is not the fruit’s presence, but the shadow of its absence. Some of the notable devices include: : The
Note: Because Goh’s early works are out of print in physical form, digital archives like Poetry.sg and SingLit Station offer authorized transcriptions.
"Are they too / Fruits of the earth?"
