telephone and sticker/ a poem by ee tiang hong ( TENGGARA 4/ APRIL 69)

TENGGARA 4/ APRIL 1969
Dept. of English/ Univ. of Malaya
Kuala Lumpur/ Malaysia

                               telephone and sticker
                                                by ee tiang hong

                     It isn't such
                     A stickler of a sticker
                     As when it first compels
                     Attention
                     Perchakapan dalam Talipan ini
                     Tidak selamat
                     Speech on this telephone
                     Is not secure.

                      And not only because
                      It at once defines
                      What you may safety say
                      And what you shall not
                      Lest it be tapped and tapped --
                      Some tell-tale secret of the State,
                      A careless slander, or that piece
                      Of gossip while it' s hot.

                      But the sheer coldness
                      Of this bakelite mouthpiece
                      Unnerves, and just as well
                      To keep the business
                      Crisp and to the point.
                      A telephone conversation
                      Is a delightful as talking
                      To a manhole.

                         EE TIANG HONG

                                  (p. 72 TENGGARA 4/1969)