Arthur Yap

ARTHUR YAP (1943–2006) (1)

2 mothers in a h d b playground (1980)

 

ah beng is so smart,

already he can watch tv & know the whole story.

your kim cheong is also quite smart,

what boy is he in the exam?

this playground is not too bad, but i’m always       5

so worried, car here, car there.

 

         at exam time, it’s worse.

 

because you know why?

 

         kim cheong eats so little.

 

give him some complan. my ah beng was like that, 10

now he’s different. if you give him anything

he’s sure to finish it all up.

 

         sure, sure. cheong’s father buys him

         vitamins but he keeps it inside his mouth

         & later gives it to the cat.                           15

         i scold like mad but what for?

         if i don’t see it, how can i scold?

 

on Saturday, tv showed a new type,

special for children. why don’t you call

his father buy some? maybe they are better.       20

 

         money’s no problem. it’s not that

         we want to save. if we buy it

         & he doesn’t eat it, throwing money

         into the jamban is the same.

         ah beng’s father spends so much,              25

         takes out the mosaic floor & wants

         to make terazzo or what.

 

we also got new furniture, bought from diethelm.

the sofa is so soft. i dare not sit. they all

sit like don’t want to get up. so expensive.          30

nearly two thousand dollars, sure must be good.

 

         that you can’t say. my toa-soh

         bought an expensive sewing machine,

         after 6 months, it is already spoilt.

         she took it back but … beng,                     35

         come here, come, don’t play the fool.

         your tuition teacher is coming.

         wah! kim cheong, now you’re quite big.

 

come, cheong, quick go home & bathe.

ah pah wants to take you chya-hong in new motor-car.    

What is your reaction to the poem?

a) why so? 

-diction: 

-tone: lighthearted and playful, competitive, self-importance.

lines 3-4

Here the narrator turns their attention to the other character’s child describing him as being “quite smart” this could be construed as being a little condescending and paints a picture of this character as being somebody who is full of self-importance

-imagery: 

-form: one stanza and presents itself with no rhyming pattern, meaning that the poem is written in free-verse

What is your understanding of the poem?
a) What is it about? Themes? MOTIFS?

2 Mothers in an HDB Playground is an appropriate as that represents the “rambling nature of parents when they meet in the eponymous playground and play games of one-upsmanship with each other. The competitiveness of mothers evident in their gossip. 

Lines 13-15

This is interesting as in this section of the stanza the narrator appears to mitigate what she has said. No longer is she just highlighting her son’s prowess. Now she is instead focusing on a negative. However, whilst it would appear she is being critical of her son, is she in fact just celebrating his cunning?

Lines 16-17

i scold like mad but what for?

if I don’t see it, how can I scold?

She then talks of how his actions go unpunished and tries to justify that decision.

Kim Cheong’s mother and Ah Beng’s mother are trying to compete with each other. KIm Cheong’s mom tells Ah Beng’s mother that “money’s no problem”. When she tells Ah Beng’s mother that Kim Cheong’s “father spends so much / rakes out the mosiac floor & wants to make terrazzo or what”, her intention is to show Ah Beng’s mother that “money’s no problem” and Ah Beng’s mother gets it and this that is why she gets the floor of the conversation back and immediately tells Kim Cheong’s mother that “we also got new furniture, bought from diethelm.”

-how much of your understanding is influenced by your position?

Lines 5-8

Once again the “gossipy” nature of the narrator comes to the fore. This time as she complains about the playground in which they have met. She complains about the traffic surrounding it. The idea of exams is once again bought to the fore. What is this saying? Is it a commentary on the importance of exams on a child’s cerebral development? Judging by the poet’s own extensive education this may well be the case.

Line 9

kim cheong eats so little.

For this singe line, the narrative voice appears to shift to the other woman who features in 2 Mothers in an HDB Playground. She is not allowed to say much about her son before being cut off.

 Lines 10-12

It would appear the narrator is playing games of one-upsmanship with the other mother. She acts like she has all the answers. She seems to think her child smarter and also better at eating! This is a concept that it seems crazy to be competitive over but yet the mother seems to be that way anyway.