Acts of Self Consumption | QLRS Vol. 21 No. 1 Jan 2022

Quarterly Literary Review Singapore

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Acts of Self Consumption

when I was younger I learnt sometimes to save a life I have to break ribs. that if I press down and hear a crack I have to keep going. so I lived in fear of saving; that one day I will lay my palms flush againsta torso and pushuntil something gives way. and in the shallows if that body wakes I shall always rememberthat hideous bruise, I put it there; I put itupon a loved one. later in life I learnt aboutthe violence in every salvation; that bringing a wreck in demands a sacrifice in return. but now,within the ring I knowto set up a clinchI must move close enough for a knockout. so I am here, and you're above water. the thick pull, the limbo. now we are face to face, on the rocks, on the sand. and you say,congratulations on the drowning. now answer the question–is this not what you want?

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By Ally Chua

QLRS Vol. 21 No. 1 Jan 2022

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	OTHER POEMS IN THIS ISSUE The Ringmaster's Daughter by Christian Ward Stammerer by Christian Ward My Mother Insists We Eat Dinner As A Family by Eden Low this side up by Kristine Chng Mid Autumn by Theophilus Kwek

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