Really.
Just teach your little Kristang classes.
Do what’s implied of you.
Do what’s asked of you.
Stop trying to be more than anything we ever imagined.
Stop succeeding at more than anything we ever dreamed we would find
when we first targeted you
for ascension.
This is not how one tries to be
a well-mannered Eurasian.
This is not what it means to be
a good Singaporean.
This is not the kind of legacy that we feel
appropriately deconstructs colonialism.
Apapoitu, ah, sayang?
Apapoitu.
Modern, trendy, fashionable —
appropriate.
Don’t waste your time on a home for tigers,
and a den for lions.
The tales you tell are sad.
Undersublimated and oversubverted.
Caustic and tart.
Digressive and dangerous.
Underappreciated and overconsumed.
Your voice is too loud,
too rhythmic, too expressive.
Your voice is too severe.
Your Voice —
— sounds like ours.