Remembering Roald Dahl - The Pig Poem by john tiong chunghoo

firecrackers
were noisier
than the hosts
the pigs when
they were ushered
in three days ago

well, the crackers
since they were
invented were
to frighten away
the nien monster that
came plaguing
villagers every year

and their job is
to be loud to -
drown out the old year
and rock in the new

year of the Pig
really drew out
the pig in me

i have been
spending
the whole time eating,
sleeping, writing poetry
and watching CDs

nothing particularly Chinese
I had observed except
the red T shirts I wore
to give some identity
to my roots, some respect

red is for luck and is a
divine prescription to
do away with nien as it
does not like red hot fiery red

another reason why crackers
are always red

well, me was born in the year
of the pig 47 years ago
and according to Chinese zodiac
have a good knowledge
of how to luxuriate in the
goodness of this world

my greatest weakness
however, is not knowing
who to trust

a vulnerability
that can cause one
to falter into the smallest of traps

naive and clumsy
the way the pig walks
as he balances the weight
of his overindulgence

a real pig who trusts
the world so much
he spends most
of his time sleeping,
eating and make merry

what a difference
to Roald's pig
who sensed
all the schemes
master farm drew up
since day one they met
- to strip him to his bones

every ounce of his bulge
drew out every inch
of the capitalist in him

and what a smart thing
the Pig did - eating master farm
before he could gut him,
barbecue him, skewer him
onto hooks in the market
crash him into pieces
for soup, rolls and pies

i wish i can be roald's pig
born to be street smart
a whole brain of go getting cells
a whole bundle of thoughts
to be a winner of life
a whole belly to stuff his master in

by john tiong chunghoo