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Moving People With Words

Poems on the MRT

Future by Rosaly Puthucheary

 

I have wrapped up the crystal
in tissues of tenderness.
I have put away the silver
in layers of love.
I have stored the antiques
in the attic of my mind.

I have packed up my past
rolled it off the floor,
stripped it off the windows.

I sit emptied of belongings
in the nakedness of a new birth.
With a suitcase of longings
I face the rooms of the future.

— Published in rib/cage (2025)

Rosaly Puthucheary (b. 1936), a Singaporean with roots in Johor Bahru, taught English Literature in Anglo-Chinese Junior College from 1984 to 2001. She was conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy from the National University of Singapore in 2006.

Rosaly writes widely across poetry and prose, including volumes of memoir and criticism. Her major publications include Pillow Your Dreams (1978), The Fragmented Ego (1978), Dance On His Doorsteps (1992), Footfalls in the Rain (2008), Mirrored Mirages (2008), Different Voices (2009), In the Wake of Terror (2012) and My Burning Hill (2012).

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Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, integrating local literature into the daily experience of commuters. Look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, as well as videos created by local artists and featuring local poets in stations and on trains. The Chinese, Malay, and Tamil poems are available in both the original languages and English. To enjoy the full poems, commuters may read them on go.gov.sg/potm.

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