Grace Chia

Always at play — these three immortals,
cool cats in pewter, frozen in their capering antics
in a corner of the bridge, a spit off the concrete
half at sea and half on land
blissfully unaware that they’ve been 
passed a million times:
lovers on stroll, bikes in a rush,
executives talking to themselves
with their hands-free cellular sets,
tourists ambling like tortoises, hot and bothered. 

Love Cats, they’re called,
mascots at the Cavenagh Bridge;
matchmaking the worlds of arts and commerce.
A stone’s throw away: museum; theatre; concert hall.
On the other side: offices; banks; MNCs. 
Since your entrance on the scene, Kucinta,
the river’s grown older, robust;
the quay’s spruced up, made buzzy — 
even the resident cats have come and gone
leaving behind trails of feline dynasties.  

Kucinta, my love,
I’ve sat with you many years ago
watching a kaleidoscope of night lights spiral
on the water cloths of Boat Quay.
Today, I see you still, relentless in your quest for fun,
never growing old, nary a whisker grey;
standing fort over Singapore River
reminding us all:  

there’re more lives than one, so 
dance to the spirit of the river, 
dance, dance, dance…