A sharing by Alan Ho Chok Chan
In my garden grows an old bougainvillea.
With gnarled , crooked trunk and deformed limbs ,
and whatever’s left of its foliage, few and pale green.
* * * *
“Let’s chop it off,” said my wife .
“Leave it,” said I.
“It doesn’t take much,
a bit of water, plentiful sunshine,
an occasional spadeful of mulch,
to keep it alive.”
* * * *
So it lived.
And every sweltering June
it rewards me with glorious purple blooms,
as if saying : “ ’tis for you ”.
* * * *
Likewise, Changi.
Forty years old , in the blink of an eye.
It too , doesn’t take much to get by.
A few good persons,
Loving care, patience and dedication,
are its sunshine, water and sustenance.
And it rewards us with bountiful blossoms….
… and the THIRD PLACE.
* * *
The THIRD PLACE,
as distinct from the first ( home ) and the second (work)place,
a place filled with pleasure, laughter and friendships cordial,
allows the spirit’s unfettered growth and renewal.
Life thereby, completes its cycle.
* * * *
We who came before you,
left our imprints, love and time ,
to nourish this Changi vine.
Now’s your time beneath the Changi sun,
Young friends, please cherish the vine ,
it will bear you flowers so divine.
— in commemoration of Changi Golf Club’s fortieth anniversary in 2011
Dr Alan Ho Chok Chan is a Paediatrician in private Family Practice. He also spends time golfing, swimming, playing tennis, wine tasting, playing guitar and singing. He is also a bibliophile and a voracious reader.
