Fruits Poem By Goh Poh Seng

The speaker describes the variety of trees—apple, cherry, pear, apricot, vine, and plum—that fill the garden, noting the joy found in watching the fruit ripen in the sun. The poem concludes with an image of the heavily laden branches bowing low, imagining them in a romantic, whimsical fantasy. GCE O Level Unseen Poems (2014 - 2023) | PDF - Scribd

First, it is a political poem. By centering local fruits (rather than apples or pears), Goh rejects colonial literary traditions. In 1960s Singapore, writing poetry about durians was a radical act of self-definition. It said: We have our own language, our own tastes, our own measures of beauty. fruits poem by goh poh seng

But notice the tension. The very lushness is excessive, almost desperate. It is the extravagance of a feast held on the eve of a siege. The poem’s true subject is not the fruit’s presence, but the shadow of its absence. The speaker describes the variety of trees—apple, cherry,

, often explores the intersections of nature and the human condition. His poem By centering local fruits (rather than apples or

It is not an act of will But a natural unfolding. The flower falls So that the fruit can be.