THE PLANNERS

BY BOEY KIM CHENG

They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,
filled with permutations of possibilities.
The buildings are in alignment with the roads
which meet at desired points
linked by bridges all hang
in the grace of mathematics.
They build and will not stop.
Even the sea draws back
and the skies surrender.
Our eyes immediately interpret the uneven lines Permutations-mathematical word. People
of the poem. The Planners want to achieve with authority as planning out what to do-
perfection but the system they are creating is far but are they considering what the locals
from perfect. It’s unbalanced and unnatural. want?
Repetition/Anaphora of “They”-who are they? Buildings meet roads “at desired points”-who
By using the pronoun “they”, Cheng distances is it desirable for? The planners. They are
himself from these people. This means that he constructing these structures in a way that
dislikes them so much that he does not want to will benefit themselves.
be associated with them. Bridges hang in the grace of mathematics-
Sentences are short, abrupt and to the point. there is something graceful about the site to Nature could refer to people too-
Caesura .There is no warmth in the poet’s tone. the public eye; these people are being there is no room for life in the
This is a clear sign that he disapproves of what the deceived. cities design by the planners.
planners are doing. They will not stop-greed
‘They build” is the refrain of the poem- Nature is helpless-personification. Nature, as
highlighting how the planners will go on and on. a powerful force, should have been able to
Sense of exaggeration. “All” do something. Skies surrender-alliteration-
Spaces are “gridded”- they are mapped out. sibilance suggests controlled anger/sinister
Permutations of possibilities- Alliteration of the forces
word “p”- plosive gives a sense of authority. The Diction of this stanza is largely positive 2
but this is not what Cheng feels.
They erase the flaws,
the blemishes of the past, knock off
useless blocks with dental dexterity.
All gaps are plugged
with gleaming gold.
The country wears perfect rows
of shining teeth.
Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.
They have the means.
They have it all so it will not hurt,
so history is new again.
The piling will not stop.
The drilling goes right through
the fossils of last century.
Simply the thought of dentistry is
enough to arouse fear and discomfort
in many people; the deranged dentist
is a popular culture and horror
archetype and Cheng’s dentists are
surely not avuncular people with a
ready smile to take your fears away.
History is new again=paradox. They are
The poet is now describing what the planners
creating something new and labeling it as
do from their point of view- he does not view
the past as a flaw. He is trying to show the
history.
Piling, drilling- continuous verbs -sense of an
planners view Singapore’s culture.
on-going activity
Extended metaphor: dentistry
Helpless= will not stop
The planners are cold, uncaring people.
Drilling goes through fossils
Plosive sounds of “b” and “p” to highlight the
Fossils symbolize history, heritage, culture
poet’s disproval
Dental Dexterity; hard plosive alliteration-
sense of authority and control/unpleasantness
The planners fill the empty spaces with gold-
but is it really gold? It looks pretty…
Gleaming gold- guttural alliteration-
unpleasantness- deceptive
Sense of perfection, the country is smiling but
the sight of gold teeth might be too much to
bear
Cacophony created by harsh sounds
Medical diction. First the planners make
people numb, then they erase memories and
then brainwash people. First, they delude
people, then erase their past and give them
something else instead.
Like doctors soothe their patients, the poet
says that it will not hurt but most of the times,
The attitude of the
it does. planners is totalitarian.
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 Ironic
Sarcastic tone.
But my heart would not bleed Bleeding= disturbing imagery
poetry. Not a single drop He won’t say anything against these planners because
to stain the blueprint these glorious people are building their past. (Note the
of our past’s tomorrow. sarcasm)

Past’s tomorrow-paradoxical- the planners are

changing their history and making it new.

Juxtaposition of “my” and “they”- the poet’s personal

voice.

The final line of the poem is something of a warning,

alluding once again to Orwell’s famous reminder that
‘who controls the past controls the future’.

As a writer, Cheng values individuality, creativity,

‘Blood’ is a universal symbol of somebody’s life spontaneity, improvisation – all the mercurial qualities
force, something that the anodyne city leeches out of poetry that have no place in the planners’ grand
of the people who live there, and ‘blood’ can designs.
represent a range of other ideas as well: a wake-up
call or rally cry; an image of protest; the risk and
danger a person puts themselves in when they speak
up against popular opinion or governmental forces; a
reminder of the violence against the natural world
inherent in the construction of our vast cities.

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STRUCTURE

1. No set rhyme scheme

2. Caesura
3. Alliteration
4. Refrain
5. Free verse.