Adnan and Comrades at Bukit Chandu
by Edwin Thumboo
Deep rumbling guns; sharp whistle in the air;
Their shells rip in to churn our earth.
Then attacks propelled by fury. Yet no despair,
No crack in our resolve. Freedom’s worth
Is the blood we shed. Our cause is just:
Sacrifice will never be in vain.
Ta’at Setia, we hold our hill, we must.
Come comrades, our spirits soar again.
The enemy are many, we are few
At one strategic point they boldy came.
Across a stream, up ravines sweet with dew.
We bayonet-drove, we slew; left many lame.
From that clash their hatred grew.
Days and nights are sad with mourning;
Houses broken; children we can’t find;
The dead, the dying, the groaning.
War has no glory, only what’s bitterly unkind.
We may yield the moment, never the inner self:
A soldier’s oath, solemn made, is deep
With duty, honour, the fellowship of life itself.
These we cherish, keep
As companions of our memory,
As guardians of our sleep.
ANALYSIS
Alliteration
- Come comrades, our spirits soar again.
Repetition
- The dead, the dying, the groaning
- "Days and nights are sad with mourning;" action of crying or mourning being associate on Days and Nights
INTERPRETATION
The poem is showing about the self-sacrifice and heroism of Lieutenant Adnan and his comrades
during World War 2 by giving images to the readers on
how they willing to sacrifice themselves for the country to create a patriotism feeling among the readers.
The poem shows how courage Adnan and his comrades are by admitting their weakness but still doesn't stop fighting.
INSPIRATION
The poet inspired to write this poem when he shifted his focus to the public sphere,
believing that poets of post-independence of Singapore
should work towards creating national literature in the mid-1970s.
By doing so, he wrote this poem to celebrate the braveness and selflessness of
Lieutenant Adnan and his comrades.
POET BIODATA
Name: Edwin Nadason Thumboo
Born: 22 November 1933
Occupation (s): Professor at National University of Singapore
Life events:
- He was born in Singapore on 22 November 1933 to a Tamil School teacher and a Teochew Chinese-Peranakan housewife
- He was teased as a child for being mixed race and this was said to foster his determination and self-respect
- He was arrested while studying English literature and history in University of Malaya for sedition
- In 1950s, He mostly wrote poems based on his personal experience but by the 1970s he focused more towards Singapore's national life
- Thumboo's legacy is that he spearheaded the creation of Singapore Literature in English