Analysis of a Poem

The Son is in Secondary School by Affian Sa’at

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me

Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment

When my eyes were actually closed


So the poem above is the one that I am going to analyse for Home Learning(e-Learning). Honestly, I really don't know how to analyse a poem so for this, I will try my best to analyse it. Don't laugh!

So basically, this poem is a free verse type of poem, it does not have any rhyme or regular rhythm. It also sounds like a daily conversation you have with your friends. The poet is actually reflecting back on his secondary school life. He sang the National Anthem in school, finds that it is difficult to maintain the whiteness of his shoes, feels that the bare thighs of hardworking scouts are somehow special. The poet even remembers the sarong kebaya that his teacher, Mrs Lee, wore on Chinese New Year. I do not know why but the poet feels that his friend shading all his questions on the answer sheet 'A' was a heroic act. Maybe because of the fact that nobody but his friend dares to do this in an examination thus calling his act 'heroic'. The poet remembers that the annual year book had a photograph of him. At the end of the poem, the poet says,'When my eyes were actually closed.' This explains that he was reflecting on his secondary school life with his eyes closed.