Block Representative

You voted. You signed. You agreed.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

This poem is about a man, Mr. Tan.

My neighbour.

He has the key to my apartment. 

He says it's to help me with emergencies.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

The lift

On our corridor.

Always breaks down.

No one notices because they travel.

Mr. Tan has their parcels. 

He waters their plants. 

Checks on the residents.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

He knows who's in...

And who's not.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Then -

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Shoes.

Slightly moved.

The window was closed just now.

The towel - wasn't it folded to the left?

Folded to the right now.

See the fridge door through the window?

It's not shut tight.

A WhatsApp message from Mr. Tan.

"You forgot to turn off the stove."

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Nothing was stolen.

Nothing was damaged.

Nothing to report.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Mr. Tan passed by.

"You weren't sleeping well last night."

"Your living room light was on."

"Instant noodles are bad for you."

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Just...neighbourly concern.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

I talked to him.

"How did you enter my home?"

Mr. Tan showed me a document.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

The management retains access.

It can conduct checks.

It can conduct inspections.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Mr. Tan is its representative.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

I voted for him.

Thanked him.

Even gave him the spare key.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

This poem is about privacy.

About permission.

How safety can become intrusion.

Mr. Tan holds the key.

So do I.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

I gave it to him.

👨🏻‍🦳🔑🚪👀📱📄✔️

Original poem by Michelle Liew Tsui-Li. AI tags are coincidental.

For Vocal's Say it Plainly challenge