Eggs
From Little Ironies of Singapore by Catherine Lim











All I wanted is just an egg
But it's beyond my reach
As mum would never buy for me
not even a single one











Eggs are for Molly and Beng Beng
But what will I get?
Pain and scolding are all I got
My childhood is a picture of sorrow
Bottling up all the criticisms I received

Eggs are as precious as diamonds
But why mum bought me six eggs suddenly
And it was just too much for me











Eggs, you are like a thorn in my eyes
My childhood
My happiness
My everything
Are all destroyed by you!

Mum, you seemed like a complete stranger to me now
Whatever in your mind
Whatever you did
I could never know nor understand

Literature Reflective Essay



Which story have you chosen from Catherine Lim's Little Ironies? Why?


What are the challenges that you face in composing a poem based on the story?


Which IT media (e.g multimedia presentation, blog, wiki etc) have you chosen to present your poem? Why?


What options did you consider to overcome those challenges? Which option did you finally choose? Why?


How have the lessons that you have gone through in the Literature Programme (Songs & Poetry Module, Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic etc) helped you in this project?


How has working on this project helped you to learn more about poetry?




I have chosen the story entitled eggs as I felt that this story is so touching that I pitied the child who wanted an egg, but pain and scolding was all she received , leading to her unhappy childhood. It was tough for a six year old child to endure all the criticisms and suffering she got from her mum and Molly and Beng Beng. I felt that the child was a brave person to be able to bottle up all her sadness to herself, without telling her mother about her suffering.
When I was composing a poem, I faced several challenges. I had difficulties composing it as to write a poem with a interesting tone is tough and there must be poetic devices in a poem. I have also faced problems to search for music, pictures and blog skin suitable for the poem.
I have chosen to present my poem in a blog as I can design it yourself (DIY) for the background, and pictures. It is easier to do a blog as I have a personal blog for myself, thus I knew how to create and decorate a blog. A blog is also a convenient platform for people to access and leave comments for improvement.
I have overcome the challenges by searching the internet for examples of poem on the this theme and by referring to the poetry slam workshop booklet to get inspirations and to learn about what kind of tones could I made use of instead of reading it monotonously. I decided to refer to the poetry slam workshop booklet as it has all the techniques on composing a poem, as well as, I could not find any poem related to this theme.
The lessons that I have gone through in the songs and poetry module and the Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic has helped me to know more about the tone of reading a poem, the different poetic devices and the ways to start a poem. Before attending the Poetry Slam Coaching Clinic, I disliked poetry and could not write a poem with a tone and poetic devices. The poem I was told to compose in the past was read monotonously.
This project has helped me to compose a reasonable piece of poem. Through this project, I have also learnt more about the techniques and skills in poetry.