Love in Hexasyllables LV: Merlion Elegy

[aduvingion]

We grow this piece of rock,
but our dreams still remain
circumscribed and enthralled
by what lies beyond us
and our shifting coastline.
A city divided
against itself shall not
stand, no matter how much
concrete we pour into
foundations. Yours are free
of fault lines, and even
a bolt from the heavens
could not hope to fell you,
so unassailable
your brand of self-belief.
God-like, you still goad us,
while brief interlopers
worship you through lenses.
Even we are guilty,
sometimes, of falling for
your pagan pageantry:
the spectacle of lights
as you endlessly spew,
the way you can accent
a wedding photograph.
You are now janiform
shorthand, but exactly
what for still evades us.
Perhaps it is enough
we know we do not know?
Stunted security.
So bless with your fierce gaze
unmoored generations,
endlessly rehearsing
our possibilities.