I remember how you’d cook
My favorite meals
Even though
It pained your fragile frame
And how your culinary skills
Surpassed all else

I remember how you’d patiently wait
By my side
While I wailed and cried
Over the most trivial things
And how your heart went out
To a spoilt brat
Like me

I remember how I chose my grades
Over you
Unwilling to even spend an hour or so
With you

And how you left
On that night
Without a last word
From me to you

I still think of you everyday
I still regret the words I did not say
But what makes me miss you more
With each passing day
What rebukes me to the core
Is that you loved me anyway.

This is a poem (titled ‘I Remember’) I wrote in 2013 when reflecting on my Amah’s passing the year before during my O Level examinations. Like many other Singaporean students, I got so caught up with getting good grades. It was what fed my pride. In this pursuit however, I neglected the more important things in life – my Christian faith, my family and in particular my Amah who this poem is about.

I hope that this poem will be a reminder for us Singaporeans to stop taking for granted those who have loved us unconditionally.

By Low Li Ping