"I'm Driving To Sembawang With My Dog", Elizabeth L Fong
And there is nobody on the roads; nobody out – I thought that everyone would be fleeing to Malaysia, but I guess that everyone who did is already there, and everyone who hasn’t would rather die than go to Malaysia. Maybe the world has already ended in Malaysia. I don’t want to talk about the world ending. I don’t want to talk at all, which is why I brought my dog. He’s got his head out the window, tongue out, completely unaware that nothing about the highway being empty at 5pm is normal. I am driving to Sembawang for my dog, because if we all have to go, he should get one last car ride before he gets to heaven. All dogs go to heaven. I’m not too sure about the people, and I’m too afraid to ask. I’ve been putting this off for too long, and I’m no longer driving to Sembawang with just my dog.
It’s not too bad, my late boyfriend says. They have beer on tap, and after a while, you forget how sour it is. My late grandfather scoffs, and says the boy is lying to make you feel better but I can confirm that at least they have beer on tap, and all the cigarettes you want – but you’ll have to go downstairs every single time you want a light. He pets my dog, and falls silent. My grandmother sitting in the back says pass the dog here; you should concentrate on driving – and my dog whuffs, boops my elbow, and is gone. I was driving to Sembawang with my dog, I tell my ghosts, and they all laugh. You didn’t want to talk, either, they chorus. Well, shit. I don’t have to.
I’m not out of gas yet, and won’t be for a while. The road is crowded with ghosts and their ghost cars. I already miss my dog.
/ Elizabeth L Fong is a lawyer, poet, and member of the poetry collective Zer0sleep. Her work has been published in A Given Grace, an anthology of Christian poetry, and various SingPoWriMo anthologies.
/ COMMENTARY
“As a dog owner, I was immediately drawn to this poem when I read its title. But “I’m Driving To Sembawang With My Dog” is more than just a poem about a dog — it’s a poem about death, loss, and ghosts. With an apocalyptic world serving as a backdrop, the poet wrestles with what it means to stay behind when the people you love are gone, and what awaits her in an afterlife that “won’t be for a while.” This memorable poem draws on tender conversations and strong storytelling to confront universal questions in a fictional world. ”