Bukit Batok Secondary School Literature Teacher’s Poem About Covid-19 Got Praises for Its Unique Form

At a time where Singaporeans are more likely to indulge in panic rather than bubble tea, one man has risen above the fear, ignorance, and xenophobia to write a poem that’ll calm and unite us all.

Secondary School Teacher’s Poem About Covid-19 Goes Viral

Aptly titled “Gone Viral”, the poem was written by Ow Yeong Wai Kit, a literature teacher at Bukit Batok Secondary School.

The poem depicts the different attitudes of Singaporeans towards the Covid-19 outbreak.

It was shared by the Ministry of Education on 22 Feb and has indeed “Gone Viral” with over 1,600 shares at the time of writing.

Twin Cinema

Now, if you’re wondering why this poem looks a little different from the ones you’re used to, that’s because Ow utilized the Twin Cinema form, a form that originated in Singapore.

(Fun fact: the first twin cinema poem was created by Singaporean poet Yeow Kai Chai)

Twin cinema poems can be read in more than one way. The poem is written in two discrete columns, and each column can be read individually from top to bottom or you could read the whole thing from left to right.

Top Left Column – Practice Good Hygiene

The top left column reads:

“we scramble for masks

to ward off

infections and other

hazards

that we need protection from

if we have come into contact with

anyone coughing or sneezing, be on your guard.

wash your hands

regularly

and avoid touching

your face. Because

this virus, considering its severity, is

simply

nothing like what we have seen before.”

As you can tell, this column encourages us to practice good personal hygiene because Covid-19 is not something we should take lightly.

Top Right Column – Paranoia 

The top right column reads:

like talismans-

nightmares of

phantoms- masks reveal our fears:

which arise when we believe

our own delusions.

rumours of

fatality cases would naturally alarm us.

but be slow to judge others. instead,

clean of prejudice, you can dwell

upon the importance of hygiene.

on the matter of sensitive topics: save

your time spent worrying, which is worse than

the actual threat. all this paranoia is

as lethal as any other pandemic

this is not the last we shall see of it.”

This column, on the other hand, illustrates how paranoia is futile and can even lead to prejudice.

Top two columns

But the beauty of this poem form is that the two columns can be read together from left to right, emphasizing each column’s message:

“wash your hands clean of prejudice, you can dwell

regularly upon the importance of hygiene.

and avoid touching on the matter of sensitive topics: save

your face. Because your time spent worrying, which is worse than

this virus, considering its severity, is the actual threat. all this paranoia is

simply as lethal as any other pandemic

nothing like what we have seen before. this is not the last we shall see of it.”

Bottom left column – Xenophobia

The bottom left column depicts the xenophobic Singaporeans voices toward Chinese nationals and how this disease has made us discriminate against them:

“some warn: “how can we avoid

foreign 

disease-ridden 

walking pathogens,

with their nauseating habits,

we can hardly quarantine them all.”

this disease

has truly gone viral”

Bottom right column – Combating xenophobia and ignorance

Conversely, the bottom right column talks about combating ignorance and describes xenophobes as “plagues of terror”.

“media sources that paint

visitors and immigrants as

virus-spreaders? xenophobes are 

plagues of terror.

they mask their true intentions.

so the danger remains-

of our own ignorance- until we know what 

is fear itself.”

Bottom two columns

When read together, the “nauseating habits” that xenophobes attributed to foreigners now belong to the xenophobes themselves:

“some warn: “how can we avoid media sources that paint

foreign visitors and immigrants as

disease-ridden virus-spreaders? xenophobes are 

walking pathogens, plagues of terror.

with their nauseating habits, they mask their true intentions.

we can hardly quarantine them all.” so the danger remains-

this disease of our own ignorance- until we know what 

has truly gone viral is fear itself.”

Beautiful.

The importance of empathy

Ow, who was one of six teachers given the Outstanding Youth in Education Award in 2019, explained in a Facebook post that the poem was a “little reflection” which he hoped would “inspire deeper thought about the importance of alternative points of view as well as empathy for others.”

Towards the end of his post, Ow said:

“As someone very dear to me once remarked: ‘If you can’t be kind, be quiet’.”

That’s some great advice right there.