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Thumboo

The poem is about a man who was exiled from his home country for his involvement in politics. He was not cut out for politics and would have preferred a quiet ordinary life, but turbulent times led him to join a political cause. He stood by his principles and defied the law, resulting in his exile from the country. The three sentences provide a high-level overview of the key details and events in the poem without copying content verbatim.

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Rauvic Cifra
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1K views

Thumboo

The poem is about a man who was exiled from his home country for his involvement in politics. He was not cut out for politics and would have preferred a quiet ordinary life, but turbulent times led him to join a political cause. He stood by his principles and defied the law, resulting in his exile from the country. The three sentences provide a high-level overview of the key details and events in the poem without copying content verbatim.

Uploaded by

Rauvic Cifra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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^

\ '
j lot OO-o
Edwin Thumboo

THE EXILE

He was not made for


politics,
For change of principles
Unhappy days, major sacrifice.
Even a bit part in a tragedy-
Seemed most unlikely.
There was. in him a cool Confucian smile.
Some suitable history would have been
A place in the Family Bank,
Consolidated by a careful raatch,
A notable gain in family wealth,
/"~N-
A strengthening of the Clan.
An ordinary life, ordinary longevity.

Of these things his father sadly dreams.

He was not made for


politics.
But those days were China-wrought,
Uncertain of loyalties, full of the search
For a soul, a pride
Out of ancestral agony, gunboat policy,
The disaster of the Kuomingtang.
So the new people took him in
To cells, discussions, exciting oratory,
Gave him a cause.
The rich being- what they are have no cause
Until their wives are middle-aged.

Work quietly, multiply the cells


Prepare for the bloom of a hundred flowers.

The flowers came, fast withereth too.

Made conspicuous by principles


And the discipline of the group,
He thought to stand his ground, defy the law.
Ke-actionaries he said.

And so he stood in the dock.


Many documents were read. Those who planned
The demonstration, allotted tasks
Had run to fight another day - they had important work,
Could not be spared, were needed to arrange
More demonstrations.
Impersonally, the verdict was
Exile to the motherland,
A new reality.

He stood pale, not brave, not made for politics.

Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries

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