Coconut Seed

The seed that start it all
The seed in the sturdy brown ball
Coconut, a seed or a nut
Questioning the ten year heart
She said it is a seed
I refused to see the deed
For I saw the white fibrous golf
A coconut seed at the hawker's loft
One against the class
Hiding my resolve in my box of glass
Two days off I sought my prize
Showing the seed small in size
Not bowing to authoritative voice
Skepticism my only choice
-- 17/03/16

Commentary

My first single recallable memory of science was in Gongshang Primary School arguing with my science teacher, Mrs Tay, on whether coconut has a seed. She said that the entire coconut is a seed but I remembered seeing a seed in a coconut. The following week, I got my mum to scout the market with me for a coconut seed to show her. I was 10 years old and in Primary 4 then. Perhaps that was where I really got interested in science – to learn the natural world.