Yeo: The Poetry

Robert Yeo is best known for his poetry, so I've decided to save the best for last. He became interested in poetry as early as secondary school and has published 5 volumes of poetry, been included in anthologies and collaborations, and has many poems still unpublished. His poetry explores similar themes to his other work, namely the importance of identity, experience, and travel. He writes poetry about the singaporean experience and his feelings on being a part of that experience. I've picked out a few of my favorites to talk about and discuss here; they range from the personal to the international. I think that they show an astute awareness of the surrounding world and an attempt to fit everything together

First, I would like to talk about his poem "Turn of the Decade 1969-70." It once again draws on his experience in London and the more general experience that was the turbulent decade of the 60's. I see it as an attempt to reconcile the excitement and passion of that world with his return to Singapore and his becoming older.

“We now in Singapore can have luxuries:

Golden mile or shoe, Khersonese silk, Marco Polo...

But not the ideological type. Not in the seventies.

In this decade of ours must be the politics

Of consolidation. In the sixties, remember,

The decade that spawned slogans and believed in them,

There was a marriage and there was a divorce.”

(In part)

He portrays Singapore as being a society much more restricted than that of London. Ideological liberties are particularly called out as being much more suppressed. He seems to view the material luxuries he mentions as ephemeral distractions from the important things that mark a true and successful government and country (freedom of expression and culture). As for the last line discussing a marriage and divorce, I think it refers to the personal changes the students of the 60's have gone through. Previously in the poem he mentions friends who once valued their freedom being tied down by marriage and serious jobs. They were once married to their romantic ideals and slogans but were forced to divorce them when reality set in.

Yeo covers a similar theme in his poem "Garden City." He emphasizes the importance of cultural development over simple economic and real estate development.

“But a garden city? Well, I expect more

Than just a hygienic place, more than

Just the ordered tapestry of streets,

Tree-lined or linked by parks or squares.

But such imagination must extend

To pursuits where plays may be freely performed

Not banned by some policeman taught to think

That art must have a criminal code.”
(In Part)


Here he makes a point against the sterility of a city and society as an oppression against expression and a hinderance against freedom. The reference to the policeman is taken from his personal experiences with government sensors concerning the staging of plays. He believed them to pick out and choose problems according to standards that are ultimately blind to reading the meaning of a work as a whole.

His poem "Saigon 2" follows a more broad perspective about what he saw and felt during the Vietnam War. It expresses his viewpoint that United States involvement was ultimately a hinderance to anything constructive being able to develop in the region. It further suggests that Western powers have no place in Southeast Asian affairs.

“Democracy is a wind-blown seed and the land

Is now too soiled for any sprig to grow

But the hardiest; and Napalm does not help”

(In Part)

These lines mean that democracy is something that must occur naturally; something people must choose. The efforts of the US are actually counterproductive to their goals as the violence and turmoil (napalm does not help). This poem displays Yeo's broader views about the region and life he has grown up in and how it has become important to him.

My favorite poem, "Leaving Home Mother", successfully combines many of Yeo's themes and shows a deep love for Singapore even if he does not always agree with it. The poem focuses on the need to travel to broaden one's perspective and on the other end a need for a home and identity. Poems like this speak especially clear to me on exchange here in Singapore because I can relate to Yeo's thoughts and experiences.

“And Singapore

I’m leaving you, too,

You’ll soon know why.

There’s a lot to be said

For going abroad, if you come home

Come home a Singaporean.

It does not matter if you’ve had

A rather varied history of domicile...

However, I’m prepared

Like any filial first son

Of responsible, stern parents

To defer my going away, Singapore,

For a week or two

If you just indicate

You are going to miss me”

(In Part)

I find it very effective how he uses metaphor to compare Singapore to a parent. I think this is a reference to the strict rules and subdued political expressions that he does not agree on. Like a parent, we may feel rebellious against the rules that they set but we truly do still love them. The last line quoted to me is very powerful, showing that he will always have a sense of belonging and will always show himself as a filial son to his country