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Kai hui: Found the poems & annotated & typed the information and 'void deck' poem

Amrish: did "void deck"

joel: did "new beginning"

pz: annonate "New beginning" & typed it out & change bits and pieces with joel

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The endless thoughts that come to me,

something inside stinging like a bee.

leave and never come back.

no ore of this painful agony.

if i hold on for a little bit longer,

i will be free without any misery.

flying over the glowing sea,

I feel like im gettng closer,

to the land of hope.

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The 'New Beginning' poem is written by Aaron Lee. The poem from what we think is about Christian belief of the journey to heaven. It can be used to describe divine judgement and interviewee.

The poem can be used to describe divine judgement. This can be seen at "Leave and never come back" and when he says he is getting close to the " land of hope ". "Land of hope" reminds me of heaven where paradise is and where he calls "hope" because his "painful agony" would end if he reaches there.

The poem can also be used to describe a job interviewee. We can see that in " endless thoughts that come to me", "stinging like a bee" and "land of hope". "Endless thoughts" tells us that the writer is nervous that many thoughts haunt his mind endlessly and "stings like a bee" which keeps him from coming down. "Land of hope" describes when he gets his job, perhaps it means that he was struggling with poverty and can finally break the cycle & leave the life of poverty by getting this job.

This poem can also be interpreted as a period of time after somebody close to you leaving the world. "Endless thoughts that came back to me, stinging like a bee" suggests that the writer cant forget about the times that he spent with the person and knowing that the person is gone for good now, those memories cause nothing else but pain to him, " stinging like a bee".

In conclusion, this shows that this poem can be used to describe dive judgement and job interviewees and it shows that people get second chances be it if they leave the world or they get a second chance in life to allow people to leaving their old, possibly suffocating life & have a good life at second the second chance.

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ESSAY: How is the relationship between the people and void deck potrayed here?

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ESSAY: How is the relationship between the people and void deck potrayed here?

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the poem,entitled "void deck" is about the replationship that many people have with the area. A void deck is a large area located under most HDB flats.It usually has benches and tables whivh allow for socialising amongst neighbours. The void deck is a part of the singaporean culture.In this poem,the relationship between the peopleis portrayed as one that is intimate,yet srained and one that transcnds generations.

the "void deck" portrays a sense of intimacy in the relationship.in the first stanza,"where the neighbourhood wives,after a morining at the wet market,sit facing the breeze,to trade snatches of gossip." The quote suggests that the wives regularly meet up their to relax and socialise with each other.This means that they feel comfortable in the void deck and have many memories there."a sense of things reduced-"suggests that tghe void deck is a place that makes people feel welcomed and safe."reduced" suggests that the simplicity in which the void deck brings.Therefore,the poem portrays a sense of intimacy as it makes people feel welcomed and at home and they treasure such a place.

However, the ppoem also portrays a sense that the relationship is strained.This is seen in the last stanza when the poet writes,"A place to be avoided,this,how in its vastness it devours hours." this implies that people tend to avoid the void deck as they are afraid of pessibly turning into someone while they are there.this sugguests that they rather stay homerather than end up chancing upon someone they might not want to meet."little wonder than,why residents rush through void decks"further suggests that people tend to avoidsuch situations.Thus,this poem crates a sense thar the people do have a strained relationshiop with the void deck as they see it as an opportunity for such casses to happen.

Lastly, this poempoertrays a relationship as one that transends generations."where the neighbourhood wives...sit facing the breeze" sugguests that the wives who are most possibly middle-aged women go to the void deck to socialise."And children orbit around them laughed without diction" sugguests that even the old enjoy the facilities the void deck offers as place forthem to have fun."And old folks sit like sags to deploy chess pieces with ancient strategies"suggests that even the old enjoy the facilites the void deck offers."collectively.these evidences suggests that regardless od the age,the void deck brings happiness to people who use it.Hence, the relationship between the people and the void deckis one thattransends generations.

In conclusion,the void deck is something that people hold dearly to their hearts.While the relationship betweeen the people and the void deck is one that is intimate,the relationship is strained.The void deck is a sanchuary for thr old and the young

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Where the neighbourhood wives,
After a morning at the wet market,
Sit facing the breeze
To trade snatches of gossip
About leery shopkeepers,
The local louts,
(Like that fella who's always drilling his walls –
Gives me migraine)
And that mad woman
Who throws things from her window.
With careful put-downs they
Fashion boasts, about stubborn sons,
Lazy daughters, who by some miracle or mistake
Always score well in class.
When words falter,
Gestures take over: pursed lips, rolling eyes,
Animated hands adorned by bangles of
Gold, jade, steel, string.

And children orbit around them
Laugh without diction –
Their games of tag a reassurance
That there has been no hothousing
Of who is unclean, unwashed,
Untouchable. When they break out
Into some kindergarten song,
One almost believes in a generation
Cleansed of skin-deep suspicions,
And free from the superstitions of the tongue –

And old folks sit like sages
To deploy chess pieces with ancient strategies.
In a corner, a caged bird bursts
With the song of its master's pride
And wrinkled women breathe, through
Tai-chi-tuned windpipes, the operatic melody of the air...

All a wanton fantasy.

Eyes reveal a meeting-point
For loners and loiterers:
A sense of things reduced-
Conversations that trickle through
Brief noddings at lift landings,
Teenage rhetoric scrawled, in liquid paper,
On the stone-table chessboard,
(Where the king used to sit)
The grandiose house-selling dreams of residents
Compacted in anonymous letterboxes;
As an afterthought, an old man pees
Under a public phone.

A place to be avoided, this,
How in its vastness it devours hours.
Little wonder then,
Why residents rush through void decks
Back to the cramped comforts of home
As if in fear of what such open space might do
To cosy minds.

(from:http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/literature/poetry/saat/void.html

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Alfian wrote plays namely,"fighting","black boards,white walls" and "yesterday my classmate died" during the 1990s.

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about him:

~born in 18 july 1977

~a muslim of minangkabau,javanese ad hakka descent

~he studied in tampines primary school, RI and RJC.

~in 1998, he published his first collection of poetry, One Fierce Hour.

~in1995,he won the kripalani Award for outstanding contribtion to creative arts

~known for his provocative works and often referred to as the country's enfant terrible.

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 A Visitation of Sunlight and Five Right Angles

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 A Visitation of Sunlight and Five Right Angles

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A Visitation of Sunlight was Aaron Lee's first poetry collection. This poetry colection was voted as one of the year's best books by The Straits Times.

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About him:

~born in june 1972 in malaysia.

~began writing poetry when he was still studying in RI.

~he is not just a poet,but he is also a writing mentor,community organiser and a banking lawyer

~his works display s a range if christian themes and imaginary as he is a christian

~his work has been shown and performed internationally.