The planner by Boey Kim Cheng

The planner by Boey Kim

 

They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,
Filled with permutations of possibilities.
The buildings are in alignment with the roads
which meet at desired points
Linked by bridges all hang
in the grace of mathematics. 
They build and will not stop.
Even the sea draws back
and the skies surrender.

They erase the flaws,
the blemishes of the past, knock off
useless blocks with dental dexterity.
All gaps are plugged
with gleaming gold.
The country wears perfect rows
of shining teeth.
Anesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.
They have the means.
They have it all so it will not hurt,
so history is new again.
The piling will not stop.
The drilling goes right through
the fossils of last century.

But my heart would not bleed
poetry. Not a single drop
to stain the blueprint
of our past’s tomorrow.

 

 Boey Kim Cheng

He was born in 1965.  His life started in Singapore, his secondary education was at Victoria school and graduated Bachelor degree and Masters degrees in English Literature from the National University of Singapore.  In 1993, he won a scholarship to attend the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.  He started his doctoral program with National University of Singapore.  But he discontinued and employed as a probation officer by the Ministry of Community Development.  Then he left for Sydney and completed his PhD studies with Macquarie University.

At the age of 24 he published his first work.  His “Somewhere-Bound” won the National Book Development Councils Book Award for Poetry in 1992.  Then his second volume of Another Place received the award at the NBDCS Book Awards.  His fifth volume of poetry, Clear Brightness, which was selected by The Straits Times as one the best in 2012.  Boey’s works are famous among both writing communities.   His poems are included for the A-level syllabus for English literature in Singapore.  His poem “The Planners are in the O-level English literature. In 2004, Boey is one of the English Poetry judges for the Singapore Literature Prize.  His works convey a great social messages to the society.

 Summary

The poet talks about the progress of the planners, the anonymous individuals who care to develop the land. They plan, decide, destroy and build in the name of progress.  Soon they become bored as they see all in order and nothing to be corrected.  His thoughts changes as he perfectly does the work and doubts about whether his progress is good or bad.  He focuses on the intentions of the planners who for the benefits of society destroy the nature and its richness.

 

Detail Analysis of the poem 

The Planners is a three stanzas poem with different length. It consists 9 lines, 10 lines and 4 lines and in total 23 lines.  It is a free verse poem without any rhyme scheme or meter.

 

First Stanza

 The opening line gives a unusual starting.

 “They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,
Filled with permutations of possibilities”

 The planners plan and focus only on their plan to build anything anywhere and everything everywhere.  They plan to build all the buildings with the intention to connect them with bridges with accurate measurements.  All their work depends on the mathematical calculations.

”In the grace of mathematics”. The word Grace is used by the poet as if all is done by the mathematics, not by the will of the planners.  They build and there is not end for their plan and progress.  8^th and 9^th lines bring out the poet's anguish. 

 Second Stanza

 “They erase the flaws,
the blemishes of the past, knock off  

useless blocks with dental dexterity.
All gaps are plugged
with gleaming gold.”

In his stanza the poet brings out the historical and psychological value by using metaphor and imagery.  They see the flaws and blemishes in historical constructions. And they demolish them to build the new with great skill and high technology.  All the gaps are fill with shinning gold for the commercial transactions. 

Anesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.
They have the means.
They have it all so it will not hurt,

 The new constructions are aligned with great perfection like a shining teeth.  The tall buildings give a great look to the landscape and people see more and more new buildings and become less sensitive to what is happening around them and they are soon drugged, controlled and manipulated by the technology.

 “They have it all so it will not hurt,
so history is new again.
The piling will not stop.
The drilling goes right through
the fossils of last century.”

The planners are described as God.  They have it all so they will never stop building and demolishing and deforestation.  Piling, drilling and the fierce merciless actions of the planners destroy the essence of the nature and history of creation.

Third Stanza

 “But my heart would not bleed
poetry. Not a single drop
to stain the blueprint
of our past’s tomorrow.” 

The smallest stanza with a saddest feelings of the poet.  He says that he has nothing to feel for these fast development of the land.  He would like to say that no poetry will pour out from his heart when he thinks about the future planning and more building of the planners.  It’s frustrating the poet to think the destruction of the nature which is a part of life.  The poet knows that there would be more buildings and more planners.  He is not motivated to write poem as he sees only destruction around him in the name of development.

 

Thus the poem brings out the poet’s experience of living among the destructive planners who plan and build by demolishing the valuable history and nature.

 Literary Devices in “The Planners”

The poet uses many techniques in The Planners.  The use of metaphor and personifications communicates the poet’s views with effect. In the first stanza “all spaces gridded” tells you about organized plans of the planners.  “Permutations” says that each single space is well planned by the planners for use.

 The themes

• Development of the land
• Destruction of Nature
• People’s addiction
• Unending thirst for progress.
  
  
  

The whole poem consists of “They” as repetition and refers to the planners who plans the development.  It’s a group of individuals who plans the progress in the name of demolishing.  It could be the industrial sector or multinational companies and corporate companies who influence the world.   They have already decided their decision.  “Even the sea draws back and the sky surrenders” implies a form of personification, even the nature is threatened by the course of their actions.  Nature is helpless, it could not protect itself and give way and allow these planners to go ahead.   The poet indirectly gives us awareness of the pollution, environment problems and global warming. Where the actions of the human involves in these.

 “They erase the flaws, the blemishes of the past, knock off, useless block with dental dexterity”

 The poet describes the perfection of planner’s skill.  They find flaws with the work of the past which is enriched with historical values.  They knock off such valuables pointing out the new technology for progress.  They want everything to be calculated and accurate.  Like a dentist who is calm and collected to give a perfect dexterity the planners too, think and destroy with perfect accuracy.

  “The country wears perfect rows of shining teeth” here the poet describes the posh look of the landscape.  The construction of the buildings are of different types and heights but they look perfect in row like a teeth.  It’s an unusual comparison for nonliving buildings with living teeth.

 “Anesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.  They have means.  They have it all so it will not hurt.”  The poet has used these words to show how in medical field they are used to freeze the brain and to do something which no one is aware of.  Similarly the poet wants to say the progress by destruction too is a kind of freezing our thinking capacity and to be manipulated by the planners.

The medical terms form images related to plastic surgery and reader can think of re-creation of the landscape.

  “The piling will not stop, the drilling goes right through the fossils of last century.”  As we are addicted to progress, we cannot stop it further. We continue to progress.  Fossils are leftovers of the past and we didn’t leave that too.  We drill them and destroy the past for the bright future.  The poet very sadly expresses without past there is no future.  Past are the strong foundation for the better future.  When one travels towards the future, one must not forget the past or one should not keep the past far away.

   “But my heart would not bleed poetry, not a single drop to stain the blueprint of our past’s tomorrow.”   The poet agrees with the development and says that it could not be a bad thing to make progress. But he says he would not do anything to spoil the blueprint which is meant for future construction.  His heart would not bleed poetry for he is dislike to stain the blueprint.  “Past tomorrow” is an oxymoron which says that we are living in the future and whatever we do is to build a strong future.  The future is in our hands and the poet doesn’t like to spoil it.

 Alliteration

Two or more words close together in a line.

Ex: permutation of possibilities

Skies surrender

Dental dexterity

 Assonance

 Two or more words close together with a similar vowel sound.

Ex: linked by bridges

Build and will

Knock of useless blocks with dental dexterity

 Caesura

 When a line is paused by punctuation.

So history is new again.  The piling will not stop.

 Metaphor

 Comparison made with living and nonliving.

Ex: when the rows of new buildings are described as shining teeth.

 The poem is therefore a sensitive expression of the poet who give awareness about the destruction of nature in the name of development.

 thank you.

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