do i really care
Apathy. Maybe that was the plan.
photo by dsnake1
do i really care
do i really care
today
as i pack a lunch
from the coffee shop
in a styrofoam box some rice
and meat dripping with grease,
the stall helper bored,
working 12 hour shifts.
maybe i will watch the parade
on tv later
raise a can of beer
to the guys standing in the sun
anyway it's all the same these years,
some songs
politicians waving
smiling
a show
of military strength
but there's an ache in the chest
that i cannot put a pulse to
because
you go out in the streets
in the sun and rain you see
the elderly collect used cardboard
& empty cans for a meal.
would they care for the flypast, the fighter jets?
the choppers, the tanks, the feu de joie?
they laugh and curse and wait for another day
and only when the national anthem comes up
do i try to hold back the tears.
written 09/08/2016
revised 06/10/2018
****************
Julia Westlin - The Sound of Silence (acapella) [ original song by Simon & Garfunkel ]
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2018
do i really care
do i really care
today
as i pack a lunch
from the coffee shop
in a styrofoam box some rice
and meat dripping with grease,
the stall helper bored,
working 12 hour shifts.
maybe i will watch the parade
on tv later
raise a can of beer
to the guys standing in the sun
anyway it's all the same these years,
some songs
politicians waving
smiling
a show
of military strength
but there's an ache in the chest
that i cannot put a pulse to
because
you go out in the streets
in the sun and rain you see
the elderly collect used cardboard
& empty cans for a meal.
would they care for the flypast, the fighter jets?
the choppers, the tanks, the feu de joie?
they laugh and curse and wait for another day
and only when the national anthem comes up
do i try to hold back the tears.
written 09/08/2016
revised 06/10/2018
****************
Julia Westlin - The Sound of Silence (acapella) [ original song by Simon & Garfunkel ]
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2018
Labels: ennui, heartlands, National Day, nationhood, politics, Singapore, urban
posted by dsnake1 at 11:22 PM
12 Comments:
I wonder if we can bear to care really.... it's so overwhelming in the end.
I know this feeling, Lee San........what's right and wrong no longer seems to apply, the poor get more desperate, the rich grin their crocodile grins all the way to the bank, and ignore that the planet is falling apart.And then the tears at the national anthem. Because we know our countries should be so much better than they are.You have put this into words so well.
Bjorn,
i wrote this a couple of years back, and have been debating to post it or not. :)
Sherry,
i think there will always be a divide, just how wide the gap is is the thing that matters.
thank you for your comment. :)
Ah, sometimes it seems so hard to care. There are so many things to take in that sometimes it all seems overwhelming. Right now, as far as the national anthem goes, I try to avoid irt.
Alas, it must be the same all over the world. How did we come to this pass?
Heartbreaking
Mary,
'overwhelming' is the word. :)
Rosemary,
power, i guess. and control...
KB,
yes, it can be.
thanks for the visit to my blog. :)
I guess we can't help ourselves but care .. even if it's overwhelming in the end..
Your words speak of the times we live in, there is deep sadness. The world seems to be spinning out of control.
I find it interesting when something is written somewhere in the past, yet it is relevant in the now.
Sanaa,
you're absolutely right on that.
Truedessa,
this, and the events about it, were written about two years back, but i guess still very relevant now.
We absolutely love your blog and find most of your post's to be what
precisely I'm looking for. can you offer guest
writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn't mind
composing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write in relation to here.
Again, awesome weblog!
Thank you Anonymous. :)
i think i am not ready for guest writers yet. first, this was set up as a personal blog, and secondly, the posts are not too regular, and there are certain complications to look into regarding guest writers
i will give the idea a thought, and maybe in the future, who knows? :)
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