Lion Heart by Amanda Chong

Lion Heart by Amanda Jones

You came out of the sea,

skin dappled scales of sunlight;

Riding crests, waves of fish in your fists.

Washed up, your gills snapped shut.

Water whipped the first breath of your lungs,

Your lips’ bud teased by morning mists.

You conquered the shore, its ivory coast.

Your legs still rocked with the memory of waves.

Sinews of sand ran across your back-

Rising runes of your oceanic origins.

Your heart thumped- an animal skin drum

heralding the coming of a prince.

In the jungle, amid rasping branches,

trees loosened their shadows to shroud you.

The prince beheld you then, a golden sheen.

Your eyes, two flickers; emerald blaze

You settled back on fluent haunches;

The squall of a beast. your roar, your call.

In crackling boats, seeds arrived, wind-blown,

You summoned their colours to the palm

of your hand, folded them snugly into loam,

watched saplings swaddled in green,

as they sunk roots, spawned shade,

and embraced the land that embraced them.

Centuries, by the sea’s pulmonary,

a vein throbbing humming bumboatsyour

trees rise as skyscrapers.

Their ankles lost in swilling water,

as they heave themselves higher

above the mirrored surface.

Remember your self: your raw lion heart,

Each beat a stony echo that washes

through ribbed vaults of buildings.

Remember your keris, iron lightning

ripping through tentacles of waves,

double-edged, curved to a pointflung

high and caught unsheathed, scattering

five stars in the red tapestry of your sky.

Poem Analysis: 

This poem proudly describes Singapore, the home of the Poet, with its 6 stanzas, each containing 6 lines, except the last one which contains 3 lines, and no rhyme scheme. The poet cleverly uses the Merlion to symbolize the magnificence and pride of her home country.

Alliteration has been used in places like “rising runes”, “saplings Swaddled”, “spawned shade”, to create better descriptions. The poet labels that the Merlion rises out of the sea, clutching the its prey under its fists. “You conquered the shore” shows that now the creature has settled down in that island. This line is also supported by “trees loosened their shadows to shroud you”.  Later on, in the 4rth stanza, the line “In crackling boats, seeds arrived wind-blown” shows how other people (seeds) became attracted to the beautiful island. The rest of the stanza uses powerful imagery in order to represent how it welcomed the beings with warmth and how they prosper.  The next stanza is dedicated to the progression of the country, saying “your trees rise as skyscrapers”

The last 2 stanzas remind the Merlion of its pride, “your raw lion heart”, its strength, “Iron lighting ripping through the tentacles of the waves”. The author concludes the poem by using a wonderful metaphor, “five starts in the red tapestry of your sky”, to signify the flag of Singapore.

Research Content:

The young poet, Amanda Chong was a published writer since she was 11 years old and also an award winning poet at the early age of 16. She is the latest student of Singapore to win the Angus Ross Award. Her story, named “What The Modern Woman Want” was bagged in the top spot in Commonwealth Essay Competition, in the year of 2004. In 2005, she took the most prestigious poetry prize, “Foyle Young Poets of the Year”. Being an A-level topper of English Literature, she is now studying Law at Cambridge University.