Poems on the MRT

Discover poetry in your daily commute. Explore a curated collection of poems by Singapore poets displayed across MRT stations, bringing literature closer to everyday life.

Last updated on 26 September 2026

Bringing local poetry to your daily commute

Image of Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT Trains and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, bringing Sing Lit to the daily commute

Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT Trains and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, bringing Sing Lit to the daily commute.

From 6 November 2025 to 4 November 2026, look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South, and Circle Lines. Poems will also be displayed on posters in train stations (till 6 May 2026) and bulletins at bus stops (till 4 February 2026).

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Seen the poems on the trains and want to read more? Curious to explore over a hundred Sing Lit poems? You can find all poems and English translations linked below. Happy reading!

Read the poems

English

Poem Details

A Middle-Aged Woman Dissuades a Potential Lover (opens in new tab) by Leong Liew Geok	Afterword (opens in new tab) by Lee Jing Jing	All Our Clocks (opens in new tab) by Amanda Chong
All the Sounds of Mynahs (opens in new tab) by Tse Hao Guang	Apartment 10C (opens in new tab) by Samuel Caleb Wee	Apples (opens in new tab) by Gilbert Koh
ars poetica (opens in new tab) by Ang Shuang	Aubade (opens in new tab) by Cyril Wong	Autobiography (opens in new tab) by Alfian Sa'at
Back Again (opens in new tab) by Stephanie Chan	Becoming an HDB Flat (opens in new tab) by Ann Ang	blue (opens in new tab) by Madeleine Lee
Continental Drift (opens in new tab) by Nabilah Said	Corridor (opens in new tab) by Theophilus Kwek	Corridor, Bukit Merah (opens in new tab) by Koh Buck Song
DAYS LIKE A PROLONGED PARACHUTE AFTER A SPACE FLIGHT (opens in new tab) by Jason Wee	Dear Bukit Batok (opens in new tab) by Rodrigo Dela Peña Jr.	Elegy (opens in new tab) by Cheng Him
flame of the forest (opens in new tab) by Aaron Lee	First Petition (opens in new tab) by Divya Victor	Forehead (opens in new tab) by Cheryl Julia Lee
From A to Z, an Insomniac Zoetrope Spins through Changi Airport Terminal 3 from Midnight to Dawn (opens in new tab) by Yeow Kai Chai	Future (opens in new tab) by Rosaly Puthucheary	Halley's Comet (opens in new tab) by Ally Chua
homecoming (opens in new tab) by Alvin Pang	How to Fly the Singapore Flag (opens in new tab) by Daren Shiau	I Watch the Stars Go Out (opens in new tab) by Felix Cheong
In Good Faith (opens in new tab) by Wong May	In the Time It Takes (opens in new tab) by Lawrence Ypil	In This City (opens in new tab) by MR Mizan
Ideology (opens in new tab) by Samuel Lee	Kelong (opens in new tab) by Boey Kim Cheng	Ketawa (opens in new tab) by Charlene Shepherdson
kirato's koi (opens in new tab) by Eddie Tay	Lines from Batu Ferringhi (opens in new tab) by Goh Poh Seng	Meeting Your Mother, Meeting You (opens in new tab) by David Wong Hsien Ming
Metta (opens in new tab) by Esther Vincent Xueming	Missing Bull Haiku (opens in new tab) by Gwee Li Sui	Moorings (opens in new tab) by Paul Tan
my mother thinks i dream in bengali (opens in new tab) by Wahid Al Mamun	Night (opens in new tab) by Anne Lee Tzu Pheng	Orchid (noun, 1) (opens in new tab) by Mok Zining
Poem without a Title (opens in new tab) by Chrystal Ho	Plastic Ghosts #5 (opens in new tab) by Marc Nair	Poem for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ending in a Beginning (opens in new tab) by Pooja Nansi
Renovation (opens in new tab) by Edwin Thumboo	Roti Chatter (opens in new tab) by Ng Yi-Sheng	seascape (opens in new tab) by Ho Poh Fun
Seeing Snow for the First Time (opens in new tab) by Yong Shu Hoong	Simple Days (Remembering Mother in Portugal, June 2015), Day 12 (opens in new tab) by Heng Siok Tian	Since You Told Me (opens in new tab) by Toh Hsien Min
Singapore Night Song (opens in new tab) by Simon Tay	Singapore River on Exhibit (opens in new tab) by Eric Tinsay Valles	sunday morning (opens in new tab) by Jonathan Chan
Tasting Notes (opens in new tab) by Natalie Wang	tea (opens in new tab) by Angeline Yap	The horizon bends (opens in new tab) by Izyanti Asa'ari
The Lover as Figured in Impressionist Terms (opens in new tab) by Jollin Tan	The Moon’s Limbo (opens in new tab) by Pamela Seong Koon	The Search (opens in new tab) by Robert Yeo
The Tai-chi Man (opens in new tab) by Ong Teong Hean	Three Faces of Night (opens in new tab) by Wang Gungwu	Towering (opens in new tab) by Fiona Sze-Lorrain
Unidentifiable Object (opens in new tab) by ArunDitha	Upsizing (opens in new tab) by Daryl Lim Wei Jie	Visitor (opens in new tab) by Jerrold Yam
Walk to Work (opens in new tab) by Aaron Maniam	White Fire (opens in new tab) by Christine Chia	who is memory? (opens in new tab) by Tricia Tan
追 (Pursuit) (opens in new tab) by Loh Guan Liang	曲/取 (opens in new tab) by Crispin Rodrigues

Chinese

Poem Details

温柔的城市 (opens in new tab) A Gentle City by 语凡 (Yu Fan)	书香 (opens in new tab) Book Fragrance by 邹璐 (Zou Lu)	云 (opens in new tab) Clouds by 刘瑞金 (Henry Low Swee Kim)
醉 (opens in new tab) Drunk by 黃文傑 (Wang Mun Kiat)	对角戏 (opens in new tab) Duologue by 贺尔 (He Er)	邂逅 (opens in new tab) Encounter by 希尼尔 (Xi Ni Er)
折叠的时光(下) (opens in new tab) Excerpt from “Layers of Time” (Part II) by 周德成 (Zhou Decheng)	藏身——与妻在希腊 (opens in new tab) In Hiding - with my wife in Greece by 吴耀宗 (Gabriel Wu)	风筝 (opens in new tab) Kite by 林方 (Lin Fang)
生活 (opens in new tab) Life by 黄广青 (Enoch Ng Kwan Cheng)	寂寞三行 (opens in new tab) Lines of Solitude by 木子（李茀民）Mu Zi (Lee Hock Ming)	青木恋人 (opens in new tab) Lover of Verdant Trees by 欧筱佩 (Aw Seow Pooi)
铁轨的记忆 (opens in new tab) Memory of Railway Tracks by 郭永秀 (Quek Yong Siu)	莫兰迪色系 (opens in new tab) Morandi Hues by 伍政玮 (Ng Zhengwei)	暖男 (opens in new tab) mr nice guy by 黄凯德 (Wong Koi Tet)
夜调 (opens in new tab) Nocturne by 孤星子 (Ang Lai Sheng)	说灵感 (opens in new tab) On Inspiration by 周粲 (Zhou Can)	关于写情诗这件事 (opens in new tab) On Writing Love Poems by 沈斯涵 Shen Sihan
回到南洋 (opens in new tab) Return to the Nanyang by 陈志锐 (Tan Chee Lay)	安静不因我们离去更安静 (opens in new tab) Silence that is no more silent by 潘正镭 (Pan Cheng Lui)	慢 (opens in new tab) Slowly by 梁文福 (Dr Liang Wern Fook)
彩窗 (opens in new tab) Stained Glass Window by 林得楠 (Denon Lim Denan)	石头 (opens in new tab) Stone by 英培安 (Yeng Pway Ngon)	一个人的山海经 (opens in new tab) The Book of Mountains and Seas by 陈晞哲 (Tan Xi Zhe)
真相之一 (opens in new tab) The Truth - Part 1 by 蔡深江 (Chua Chim Kang)	走进图书馆的树：前身是树，今生是书本 (opens in new tab) The Tree at the Library Entrance by 王润华 (Prof Wong Yoon Wah)	二老走植物园 (opens in new tab) Two Elders Stroll in the Botanic Gardens by 林高 (Lin Gao)
伞内·伞外 (opens in new tab) Within/ Without by 淡莹 (Dan Ying)

Malay

Poem Details

Sebutir Pasir (opens in new tab) A Grain Of Sand by Dr Hadijah Rahmat	Membelah Budi (opens in new tab) A Severed Mind by Abdul Ghani Hamid	Seekor Labah-labah Dan Seorang Penyair Di Perpustakaan (opens in new tab) A Spider and a Poet in the Library by Hartinah Ahmad
Selepas (opens in new tab) After by Hamed Ismail	Seloka Pujangga Cinta (opens in new tab) Ballad of the Love Poet by Samsudin Said	Lebih Baik Sendiri (opens in new tab) Better Alone by Sofia Nin
Kekwa (opens in new tab) Chrysanthemum by Ahmad Syarif	Tanah Liat Di Tangan Tukang Tembikar (opens in new tab) Clay in the Potter’s Hands by Noridah Kamari	Bunga Lalang (opens in new tab) Lalang Flower by Isa Kamari
Warkah Untuk Seorang Isteri (Buat Su) (opens in new tab) Letter To My Wife (For Su) by Yatiman Yusof	Cinta adalah Makrifat (opens in new tab) Love is a Blessing by Djamal Tukimin	Bicaraku Dengan Sang Rumput (opens in new tab) My Conversation With The Grass by Wan Jumaiah bte Mohd Jubri
Rayuan Asmara (opens in new tab) Pleas of Romance by Muhammad Ariff Ahmad (MAS)	Pelangi (opens in new tab) Rainbow by Mohamed Latiff Mohamed	Melayah Tabah Ke Mercu Jaya (opens in new tab) Sailing Steadfastly to the Pinnacle of Success by Nordita Taib
Kreok-kreok (opens in new tab) Squeaks by Herman Rothman	Selat Tebrau (opens in new tab) Tebrau Straits by Juffri Supa’at	Terima Kasih (opens in new tab) Thank You by Muhammad Khairool Haque
Dialog Terakhir Wayang Pak Dalang (opens in new tab) The Last Dialogue of the Shadow Puppetmaster by H.B. Johar	Ini Nasi Yang Ku Suap (opens in new tab) This Rice I Eat by Masuri S.N	Menuju Pantai Bahagia (opens in new tab) Towards the Shore of Happiness by Suratman Markasan
Kereta Api Kehidupan (opens in new tab) Train of Life by Peter Augustine Goh	Tuk, Tuk, Tuk (opens in new tab) by Farihan Bahron	Tanah Air Perantau (opens in new tab) Wanderer’s Homeland by Aisyah Lyana
Kita Pencari Masa (opens in new tab) We, The Seekers of Time by Norulashikin Jamain

Tamil

Poem Details

அழகு (opens in new tab) Beauty by மு.அ.மசூது (A.R. Mashuthoo)	பட்டாம்பூச்சி (opens in new tab) Butterfly by ஹரிணி V. (Harini V)	மேகம் (opens in new tab) Cloud by பனசை நடராஜன் (Panasai Natarajan)
விண் மீன்கள் (opens in new tab) Dazzling Stars by பாத்தேறல் இளமாறன் (Patheraal Illamaran)	கனவு (opens in new tab) Dream by ந.வீ.சத்தியமூர்த்தி (N.V.Sathiyamoorthy)	சிறகு (opens in new tab) Feather by நூர்ஜஹான் சுலைமான் (Noorjehan Sulaiman)
பூக்களை நீரில் ஆழ்த்துதல் (opens in new tab) Floating Flowers Downstream by நிலாகண்ணன் (Nilakannan)	பாடம் (opens in new tab) Lesson by லதா (Latha)	முதுமையின் அரவணைப்பில் (opens in new tab) Life's Journey by சுலோசனா கார்த்திகேசு (Sulosana Karthigasu)
பார்வை (opens in new tab) Look by ஷிவ்ராம் கோபிநாத் (Shivram Gopinath)	காதல் (opens in new tab) Love by யூசூப் ரஜித் ராவுத்தர் (Yousuf Rowther Rajid)	பல்லூழிக் காலப் பெரும் பூ (opens in new tab) Magnificent Ancient Flower by இன்பா (Inbha)
ஞாபகத் தடங்கள் (opens in new tab) Memory Lanes by எம். சேகர் (M. Segar)	சன்னலில் வெளியே அமர்ந்திருந்த கவிதை (opens in new tab) Poem Outside My Window by சித்துராஜ் பொன்ராஜ் (Sithuraj Ponraj)	திரைச்சீலையும் மரக்கிளையும் (opens in new tab) The Curtain and The Tree Branch by கோ.இளங்கோவன் (G. Elangovan)
இருப்பின் மேன்மை (opens in new tab) The Greatness of Presence by தா. மதிக்குமார் (Mathikumar Thayumanavan)	தூரத்து ஆள் (opens in new tab) The Man in the Distance by பிச்சினிக்காடு இளங்கோ (Marimuthu Arumugam Elango)	நரை வெளிச்சம் (opens in new tab) Twilight by க.து.மு. இக்பால் (KTM Iqbal)
தலைப்பில்லா (opens in new tab) Untitled by அ.கி.வரதராசன் (A.K. Varadharajan)	தலைப்பில்லா (opens in new tab) Untitled by ராஜூ ரமேஷ் (Raju Ramesh)

Browse the full poem texts on Sing Lit Station's website. (opens in new tab)