"What is J8 if not bishan persevering", Wong Yang and Kimberley Chia
I always wonder when you will expire. walls
melding into scaffolding, trading tangerine for
ice rinks and navigation night-
mares of northpoint proportion.
you’d be the new kid on the block;
the capital of capitalism. the tower to end
all turf wars. forget the east coast plan, you’d
make bishan great again.
instead, you remain – nineties hangover
shifting eights into infinity, relevance receding
like waves; remnants of past grandeur mere
markers of mediocrity.
yet, I have traced your trails into the back
of my hands, learnt to brush against
another’s on your benches. your clunky corners
(yes, even long john silver’s) bookend
my youth.
you forfeit pretense for heart, lend-
ing red bricks respite. walkways
throbbing, ceilings singing,
swelling to the tune of
this town.