Merlion
Half lion, half fish
Undecided as if
whether to cherish
the joy of being thronged,
being always in limelight
Or lament the void that's left
from being out of place,
far from the depths of the sea,
or the jungle that is now
only steel and concrete
Perched across the bay
waiting for the day
when someone will walk by it
and feel its pain
and see it in the eye
from outside the camera lens
trying to filter out smiles fake
Waiting to eternity
the king of the jungle
made to spew brine
and become the unwilling sphinx,
riddled unto itself
Clueless to the symbolism
of the nation that is
yet to unbecome the city-
Nation-city, out of necessity
What better icon for it
than a lion trying to pass off as fish