"I Wish You Luck", Andrew Kirkrose Devadason
for your audition. for your exam. for getting
your hands on breakfast. for learning three languages
long since dead. for clinching that scholarship.
for navigating your new campus. for navigating
capitalism. for navigating academic email chains.
for receiving timely replies. for making it through
a chaotic week. for finishing your group project. for hiding
tears from your family’s questioning eyes.
for catching up on reading poems. for still finishing
your assignments, creative pieces, for catching up on lectures.
for selecting activities that will boost
your serotonin. for keeping your socks dry.
for your fifth social interaction of the day.
for freshening your body and organising
your thoughts. for sneaking your sister back home
after dark. for inviting the spectre of productivity
into your body. for getting an MC. for leaving LinkedIn.
for wiggling out of useless meetings. for setting jelly
with pectin. for ironing all the laundry. for putting on
your big girl pants. for looking very queer.
for cooking problematic crackers. for making tiny scones.
for cleaning up the kitchen. for scurrying out the house.
for finishing your thesis. for getting coffee in a crowd.
for reasoning with your brain. for getting out of bed
again. for cleaning all the things. for all the times
I cannot contact you. for tying up loose ends.
for cutting your hair short. for being
in the wider world.
/ Andrew Kirkrose Devadason (he/him; b. 1997) first participated in SingPoWriMo in 2018. In 2020, he received the unofficial SingPoWriMo award, the Hamid Roslan Award for Fresh Funky Poetic Voice. His work has appeared in journals including Cordite Poetry Review and OF ZOOS, and anthologies including New Singapore Poetries and EXHALE: An Anthology of Queer Singapore Voices.
/ COMMENTARY
“This found poem, composed and riffed off of personal text messages the writer has sent is a fantastic example of how to tell a story through the build-up of detail. Achievements and milestones both great and small are treated with equal consideration by the writer. A sincere poem, suited to the new year. ”
/ Q&A
What inspired you to write this poem?
While considering the prompt's question of what I would wish for myself or others, I became curious about what wishes I had already offered over text. The process of searching for an answer to that formed the basis of this found poem, which gathers sentiments I sent over Telegram with the phrase "I wish you luck" between 2018 and 2020 (inclusive). By reflecting the challenges and concerns faced by the people I spoke with within that time period, the poem paints a portrait of the people I spoke with and cared about in that time, and points towards a version of the world I wanted to live in.
How has writing for SingPoWriMo impacted you as a poet?
SingPoWriMo is one of my favourite literary events to socialise at, and I don't even have to leave the house for it! SingPoWriMo is a great way to share space with people who care about poetry, and was one of my first forays into reading and writing with a wider poetic community. I'm so grateful for the friends I've made and the work I've had the opportunity to encounter here, and for the supportive atmosphere.
What would you say to someone thinking about taking part in the next SingPoWriMo?
The time and effort you spend writing are gifts to yourself - enjoy them! And, of course - I wish you luck.