kacang pool

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---

on saturday mornings
the boy and his father
would go for breakfast

his father would order
a bowl of kacang pool
“too jelak, come, son”

they would share
a boisterous meal of
clustered foul medammas

banded cooked beans
simmered with ground beef
held hand in hand with

spices, green chillis, ghee
crowned with a fried egg,
sunny side up.

he watched his father eat,
slurping like turning pages
of bedtime stories

the boy’s chubby hands
mopped baguette slices
with the pool broth,

the egg was always
his to finish at the end.

when his father left
he learnt to wait tables,
to do the work of men

he orders kacang pool
for lunch, remembering
his father’s hand in his

wiping the last of
bread and stew,
he cleans up
after the crowd.

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_{Euginia Tan (b.1991) is a multi-disciplinary writer based in Singapore. She has experience in various writing forms including poetry, creative non-fiction, translation and playwriting.}

_{Euginia completed a translation apprenticeship at the Singapore Book Council from December 2024 to May 2025, mentored by Shelly Bryant. Her apprenticeship is supported by the Ministry of Communications and Information, under the Translation Talent Development Scheme. She has also undergone mentorship with Alfian Sa’at for playwriting at Wild Rice, one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies.}