The Planners
by Boey Kim Cheng
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In 'The Planners', Boey Kim Cheng criticises the relentless, soulless modernisation of his native Singapore. The planners 'plan', 'build' and grid all spaces, filling them with 'permutations of possibilities'; buildings align perfectly with roads and bridges 'in the grace of mathematics'. They will not stop, 'even the sea draws back and the skies surrender'. Using an extended dental metaphor, they 'erase the flaws, the blemishes of the past', knock off 'useless blocks with dental dexterity', plug all gaps 'with gleaming gold', so 'the country wears perfect rows of shining teeth'. Through 'anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis' they make change painless and erase memory, so 'history is new again'. But the poet resists: his heart 'would not bleed poetry, not a single drop to stain the blueprint of our past's tomorrow'. The poem laments how ruthless development destroys heritage, nature and the human, emotional bond with the past.
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'The Planners' by Boey Kim Cheng is a free-verse poem that laments the aggressive, mechanical modernisation of Singapore. Through irony and an extended dental metaphor, the poet attacks the way ruthless urban planning erases history, nature and human feeling.
The all-conquering planners
The poem opens by stating what the planners do: 'They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded, filled with permutations of possibilities.' Buildings align perfectly with roads that meet 'at desired points', linked by bridges hanging 'in the grace of mathematics'. Their power seems limitless, 'They build and will not stop. Even the sea draws back and the skies surrender.' Nature itself yields to their ambition.
The dental metaphor of 'perfection'
The planners 'erase the flaws, the blemishes of the past', knocking off 'useless blocks with dental dexterity', as a dentist removes decayed teeth. All gaps are 'plugged with gleaming gold', so 'the country wears perfect rows of shining teeth', a gleaming but artificial, soulless perfection.
With 'Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis', they numb any pain, erase memory of the past and lull people into acceptance. 'They have the means. They have it all so it will not hurt. So history is new again', the past is conveniently rewritten and forgotten.
The poet's silent resistance
The relentless work goes on: 'The piling will not stop. The drilling goes right through the fossils of last century', destroying even the deepest remnants of the past. But the poet refuses to be complicit: 'my heart would not bleed poetry. Not a single drop to stain the blueprint of our past's tomorrow.'
By refusing to let his art glorify or 'stain' this cold plan, the poet mourns the loss of heritage, memory and the human, emotional bond with the past, a quiet but firm protest against soulless progress.