Boey Kim Cheng The Planners

The Planners
Boey Kim Cheng
They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,

filled with permutations of possibilities.
The buildings are in alignment with the roads
which meet at desired points
linked by bridges all hang
in the grace of mathematics.
They build and will not stop.
Even the sea draws back
and the skies surrender.
They erase the flaws,

the blemishes of the past, knock off
useless blocks with dental dexterity.
All gaps are plugged
with gleaming gold.
The country wears perfect rows
of shining teeth.
Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.
They have the means.
They have it all so it will not hurt,
so history is new again.
The piling will not stop.
The drilling goes right through
the fossils of last century.
But my heart would not bleed

poetry. Not a single drop
to stain the blueprint
of our past’s tomorrow.
Summary
‘The Planners’ by Boey Kim Cheng is an effective poem about the impact of industrialization and
development.
The speaker spends the three stanzas of this free verse poem addressing the impact that the
“planners” have on the world around him and others. He suggests that the constant desire to
build a new, better city is detrimental to one’s understanding of the past. At the end of the poem,
the speaker discusses how as a poet, the new world that’s been created around him is entirely
uninspiring. His poet’s heart is not going to bleed for these sites, sounds, and lack of history that
surrounds him (or that he believes is going to surround him as things change in the future).
You can read the full poem here.
Detailed Analysis
Stanza One
They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,
(…)
and the skies surrender.

The speaker begins with three short statements about the nature of the “planners.” Their job is
fairly simple, they “plan,” “build,” and focus on making spaces that are “gridded.” The planners
create spaces that are filled with possibility. A variety of outcomes can be interpreted from what
they’re creating around the speaker. They create buildings that line up with roads that link with
bridges. All of this is created from the “grace of mathematics.”
At this point, it feels as though the speaker is admiring the planner’s work and what they’re able
to accomplish. But, the final line of the stanza suggests that the speaker sees these
developments as problematic. He knows how, as the planners work, “the sea draws back / and
the skies surrender.” Nature is altered in a dramatic way by their work.
Stanza Two
They erase the flaws,
(…)
The drilling goes right through the fossils of last century.

The platters also work to “erase the flaws” and the “blemishes of the past.” As history has shown
us, erasing the past is something that does no one any good. By demolishing what was and
creating something new, the planners are removing the community’s immediate history. This is
something that the speaker is incredibly skeptical about. It’s at this point that the speaker
transitions into a very clever example of an extended metaphor.
The poet uses dental and teeth-related imagery to describe his progress. The gaps in the
“mouth” of the city and country are plugged with “gleaming gold.” (This is also a good example
of alliteration.)
Anything that the planners see as not up to par, shiny enough, or modern enough, it’s changed.
Instead of embracing the past and all the faults and flaws of history, the country “wears perfect
rows of shining teeth.”
The planners are powerful. The speaker suggests this through his description of their ability to
“have it all so it will not hurt.” Again, this is how dentistry works. Changes are made without the
subject being able to feel what’s happening. In the same way, the everyday citizens of this
country are unaware of what they’re losing. Speaker can see through the façade that the
planners put up.
The planner’s work becomes even more destructive than the last lines of this stanza. The
speaker describes how they will not stop no matter what they have to drill through. He
references the “fossils of last century.” Although this past is not ancient, it’s still meaningful. No
one is given the option on whether or not to see what they knew over the last years lost or
preserved.
Stanza Three
But my heart would not bleed
(…)
of our past’s tomorrow.

The final stanza of the poem is only four lines long. This is also known as a quatrain. Although
the speaker may have alluded to his disdainful interpretation of the planners were and the final
lines, he suggests that he is, in fact, emotionless about all that’s being created. In this way, he
tells readers that his heart is not going to be moved by what’s being created today, for tomorrow.
No poetry is going to come from his heart in regard to the new buildings and future planning.
The progress that’s playing out in front of him is not going to inspire him. This suggests that the
speaker, who may be the poet himself, is not the only one who’s going to feel this way. The
speaker could be interpreted as a larger voice, a voice that is speaking for all the creative minds
of the world. Without history and the seemingly unimportant fragments of the past, many writers,
artists, and other creators will feel unmoved in their unique artistic practices.
Structure and Form

‘The Planners’ by Boey Kim Cheng is a three-stanza poem that is divided into one set of nine
lines, one of ten lines, and another four-line stanza. The poem is written in free verse. This
means that the poet does not make use of any set rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. The lines
vary in length and in the end sounds used in the final words. But, this does not mean that the
poem is entirely without structure.
Literary Devices
Throughout this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not
limited to:
Enjambment: occurs when the poet cuts off a line before its natural stopping point. For example,
the transition between lines three and four of the first stanza as well as lines one, two, and three
of the final stanza.
Juxtaposition: can be seen when the poet contrasts different images. For example, he speaks
about the small space his speaker occupies and the vastness of what’s being built around him.
Alliteration: occurs when the poet repeats the same consonant sound at the beginning of
multiple words. For example, “permutations” and “possibilities” in line two of the first stanza and
“skies surrender” in the last line of the same stanza.

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The Planners

Boey Kim Cheng

They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,

They erase the flaws,

But my heart would not bleed

You can read the full poem here.

They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,

and the skies surrender.

They erase the flaws,

The drilling goes right through the fossils of last century.

But my heart would not bleed

of our past’s tomorrow.

Structure and Form

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