Reimagining the Merlion: Three poets’ take on the mythical creature for National Day 2026
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The Merlion brightly lit for i Light Marina Bay 2012.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – Since poet Edwin Thumboo wrote Ulysses By The Merlion in 1979, it has become an unofficial rite of passage for young Singapore poets to write their takes on the mythical creature. For National Day 2026, The Straits Times commissioned three young writers for their version of the Merlion story. Here’s wishing Singapore a happy 61st birthday.
The Merlion laments
By Izyanti Asa’ari
Writer-designer Izyanti Asa’ari’s poetry explores the gestures the body makes in response to place, memory and myth.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
You say: It’s slippery, the idea of Singapore.
Yes, I am the stacked flash of pure invention.
What I dream calcifies into bedrock. I open my mouth
and images stream ad infinitum; take me in
the millions, each photograph immeasurably different
from the last, each pixel building the pillars of the city
into a spectacle as real as charged glass.
There is nothing flimsy about images.
It is electric. Am I not solid enough for you?
Would you rather the river remain pinned by stone,
that equally mute beast more ghost than story,
more encumbrance than meaning?
What remains will be what is captured
and I am standing very still.
Izyanti Asa’ari is a writer and designer. Her poetry explores the gestures the body makes, willingly or otherwise, in response to place, memory and myth. Her works have appeared in New Singapore Poetries (Gaudy Books, 2022), The Opening Act (Layl Ash-Shayr, 2024) and, most recently, blood/work: ALLTHETIME 02 (Afterimage Press, 2026).
The Merlion Signature
By Mok Zining
Mok Zining is an editor at Ethos Books. Her first book, The Orchid Folios, was shortlisted for the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Forget glow. Give up the Dew
of Idol Skin for the New
Icon Skin. Think Queen
Elizabeth I, white-armed
Helen of Troy and Empress Wu,
concrete cold and marble matte,
alabaster incandescent, civilisation
white. This three-month treatment
shrouds you first in scaffolding,
shielding you from harsh UV
rays and the undrinkable rain.
Next is the cleansing
of tropical impurities
with our patented hydravortex
technology, using unpolluted Alpine
waters to remove deep-seated
muck, followed by injections
to fill pockets hollowed by bad
vibes. Finally comes the restoration
of the facade with a finish
of Shanghai plaster™, refined
for over a decade by Japanese
researchers to stand firm even
during earthquakes, because facade
is everything. Effectiveness proven
since the Meiji Era. The Merlion
Signature: an unshatterable Empire face
for your Empire waist.
Mok Zining’s first book, The Orchid Folios, was shortlisted for the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize. She is an editor at Ethos Books and at work on an essay collection, The Earthmovers.
The Tired, Washed-Up Mascot at Benjakitti Park
By Max Pasakorn
Max Pasakorn is an award-winning published author of creative non-fiction chapbook A Study In Our Selves (Neon Hemlock Press, 2023).
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
I never imagined I’d find you here
of all places, still so dutiful
under the unmanicured tree.
My boyfriend spotted you first.
“What a coincidence! To meet
the world’s most famous Singaporean
in Bangkok—”
But you wore the blankest eyes and a dry,
crusty grimace. The stone-cold exterior
of an A-grade diplomat. Secrets swallowed,
never spilled, never leaked:
Your whole life, you were hosing our home,
the perfect bidet. Now, the city is spotless.
So clean people can poop in public train toilets.
If you don’t mind me asking, did you ever feel at home?
Every time you flopped, you scattered
this iridescent, scaly mess.
So you apologised profusely.
Mopped and swept and wept.
People back home are not
the type to forgive. How much pain
did you feel before you moved,
before you realised the looks
never mattered?
By the way, I like the moss
growing below your tail.
It looks good on you,
like a shadow painted
by a talented artist.
It’s nice here, watching the same sun
set over the fountains.
I think we all earned it.
Max Pasakorn is an award-winning published author of creative non-fiction chapbook A Study In Our Selves (Neon Hemlock Press, 2023) and a Thai cultural translator with over two million monthly views on TikTok and Instagram.
