Monday, June 21, 2004
Fill In The Blanks
Blank Verse, Not Iambic**
By Daren Shiau*
“Didn’t see you just now. How are you?”
“Alright. You?”
“Okay.”
“How was your weekend?”
“Not bad. Went to my [blank]’s place. We had lunch, watched a DVD – [blank]. You seen it?”
“No. Is it good? Heard that it’s [blank].”
“Okay, lah. Didn’t understand the ending. How about you?”
“Like that lor. Shopping. On Saturday, we tried this new place [blank]. Not sure how to pronounce – I think it’s called [blank]. Supposed to mean [blank] in English.”
“How’s the food?”
“So-so. The [blank] is not bad.”
“For me I still like Chinese food.”
“Me too but not bad, lor. Once in a while change taste.”
“Yah ….” [Pause]
“Weather recently very [blank], ah? Can’t even sleep …. Sorry my phone …. Hello? I’m in a lift … The [blank]? I send out a email already what. You all never read your email. Yes, I cc everybody. I’m in a lift, I call you back.”
[Lift door opens] “Okay, see you. Keep in touch, ah?”
“Okay. [blank].”
“[blank].”
Post Scriptum
Daren's work often reflect the conditions of the contemporary urbanite. In this poem, I cannot help but see myself and my fellow urbanites within. Is this a modern urban condition? A life where we simply fill in the blanks. This seems to be where civilisation is leading us to. From the first tribal gathering to the most powerful governments today, man have built infrastructures to aid progress. Not unlike the built infrastructures - power plants, roads, museums, etc - "Blank Verse, Not Iambic" reflects the template, or more brutally put, the infrastructure that we have built for our social intercourse.
* Daren Shiau is a recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award 2002 (Literature). He is the author of the novel Heartland and the poetry collection Peninsular: Archipelagos and Other Islands. His works have been featured, translated and performed in the United States, Europe, Australia and Singapore.
** Iambic refer to poems written in iambs. And an iamb can be understood as a pair syllables comprising short syllable followed by a long syllable. Learn more …
By Daren Shiau*
“Didn’t see you just now. How are you?”
“Alright. You?”
“Okay.”
“How was your weekend?”
“Not bad. Went to my [blank]’s place. We had lunch, watched a DVD – [blank]. You seen it?”
“No. Is it good? Heard that it’s [blank].”
“Okay, lah. Didn’t understand the ending. How about you?”
“Like that lor. Shopping. On Saturday, we tried this new place [blank]. Not sure how to pronounce – I think it’s called [blank]. Supposed to mean [blank] in English.”
“How’s the food?”
“So-so. The [blank] is not bad.”
“For me I still like Chinese food.”
“Me too but not bad, lor. Once in a while change taste.”
“Yah ….” [Pause]
“Weather recently very [blank], ah? Can’t even sleep …. Sorry my phone …. Hello? I’m in a lift … The [blank]? I send out a email already what. You all never read your email. Yes, I cc everybody. I’m in a lift, I call you back.”
[Lift door opens] “Okay, see you. Keep in touch, ah?”
“Okay. [blank].”
“[blank].”
Post Scriptum
Daren's work often reflect the conditions of the contemporary urbanite. In this poem, I cannot help but see myself and my fellow urbanites within. Is this a modern urban condition? A life where we simply fill in the blanks. This seems to be where civilisation is leading us to. From the first tribal gathering to the most powerful governments today, man have built infrastructures to aid progress. Not unlike the built infrastructures - power plants, roads, museums, etc - "Blank Verse, Not Iambic" reflects the template, or more brutally put, the infrastructure that we have built for our social intercourse.
* Daren Shiau is a recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award 2002 (Literature). He is the author of the novel Heartland and the poetry collection Peninsular: Archipelagos and Other Islands. His works have been featured, translated and performed in the United States, Europe, Australia and Singapore.
** Iambic refer to poems written in iambs. And an iamb can be understood as a pair syllables comprising short syllable followed by a long syllable. Learn more …
