"Alive", Gerline Lim
after “August 9th”, Sam WillettS
Here growls the trespasser,
unbolting himself from the gate of his crowd,
a Usain from start to finish,
a feast waiting for dark spell working.
Time for little flashbacks,
spring rain outside, the cuddles in bed,
sleep-ins, her tiny hand around his finger. Time too
for his sad freedom, from the one sole desire to
no tongue, no fear, amnesia. Still running;
those around human-spillage into a bottleneck
before a wall. Flushes and sweat rust
the beating heart, something inside
falls apart into undug graves.
The unsaid consensus spells itself:
let her be the bride of the bite.
/ Gerline Lim is a Singaporean living in Germany who sometimes misses her playground in the east.
/ COMMENTARY
“I really enjoyed how cinematic this poem felt. Vivid images like “unbolting himself from the gate of his crowd” and “human-spillage into a bottleneck / before a wall” did a great job in transporting me into the world of the poem and evoked a sense of claustrophobia. I also loved how Gerline weaved in hints of zombie storytelling without being too explicit — “dark spell working,” “rust / the beating heart,” “something inside / falls apart into undug graves,” and “the bride of the bite.” What sealed this poem for me was the line “time for little flashbacks,” a meta reference to zombie movies (I thought of Train to Busan). These soft, tender moments like “spring rain outside” and “her tiny hand around my finger” increased the stakes while simultaneously helping to ground the poem in reality. ”
/ Q&A
What inspired you to write this poem?
From Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, to 28 Days Later and the not-so-recent Korean drama, All Of Us Are Dead, zombies have remained undead in our pop culture for as long as I can remember. I still recall my first time watching Kingdom after the initial COVID-19 outbreak. Seeing zombies spreading from city to city, the fear was indeed real.
How has writing for SingPoWriMo impacted you as a poet?
Participating in SingPoWriMo has helped me grow as an aspiring poet and also be more confident in my own writing. I can’t thank the SPWM community enough, the junior and senior mods and especially, of course, Joshua Ip who has been nothing but kind and encouraging to as many of us as he can.
What would you say to someone thinking about taking part in the next SingPoWriMo?
Just do it. And have fun. Most writings in SPWM are works in progress so don’t think too much about it.