Hotel
Cyril Wong

In the cupboard, bare hangers are skeletons
for future selves; a complimentary bathrobe
waits like a new and better, even purer, skin;
fresh pillows are the unformed bodies
of lovers yet to be born; bedroom slippers
become footwear for shuffling up
an airy flight of stairs free of this life.
Open the fridge, lean past the overpriced
chocolate and the smugly settled soft drinks
and tune in to voices from the god-realm,
where beings reminisce, not unfondly, about
past desires and mistaken attachments.
On the bed, our bodies stay unentwined
in rest because love is in a different room
in a faraway country; but beneath us,
cowering children press ears to the floor,
absorbing the footfalls of fathers retreating,
heads lowered in shame or shaking with disgust;
these trembling versions of us reach
for each other now, smaller hands taking hold.
In reality, the air-con sighs as discreetly
as possible; behind translucent curtains, night
slowly lifts; nobody expects the morning
to be spectacular; although my eyes are
reluctant to close, still hungry for the ever-new;
while another stranger beside me sleeps and sleeps.

Cyril Wong’s cryptic poem, “Hotel”, is from a collection of poems called “The lovers’ inventory”. This collection documents his past endeavours with lovers and flings with other men. In the poem “Hotel”,  the speaker struggles with reconciling with his identity as a gay man, and can only seek acceptance by looking for promiscuous relationships with strangers outside his home country. The highly ambiguous nature of the poem corresponds to the reality that a gay person’s identity is in constant flux due to societal pressure. They have to wear masks to hide their identity at times, be discreet in how they present themselves to others, so different people may have a different impression of him. 

The theme of this poem is about the complexity of identity, the vulnerability of being a gay man, and the theme was being unfolded gradually in the poem. The speaker starts with a hint, in the first line, he describes a “cupboard” with skeleton-like bare hangers. This “cupboard” corresponds to being in the closet, a typical situation gay men are in. The lifeless nature of the skeletons also signals that the future for the gay man may not be bright. In the next line, the speaker writes about “a complimentary bathrobe waits like a new and better, even purer, skin”. This bathrobe is equivalent to a mask that the gays are wearing constantly, they are afraid of coming out of the closet, and have to constantly suppress their true identity to avoid societal disapproval. The following line, “fresh pillows are the unformed bodies of lovers yet to be born” is implying about the promiscuous nature of gay relationships. Most gay relationships are only physical and temporary, just like hotel room pillows which everyone uses for a brief period of time. Furthermore, the line “love is in a different room in a faraway country” suggests the vital relationship of life —-marriage — is in his home country and he deliberately left it for a short while. The concluding line, “while another stranger beside me sleeps and sleeps” states that gay men’s interaction is only physical and not emotional. Although he tried to escape his ordinary life to get a temporary expression of his true identity, the respite is short-lived, revealing the loneliness deep in his heart. As we can see, the theme of identity and vulnerability is being unfolded gradually. 

The usage of literary devices also supported the theme. We can see that anthropomorphism, personification and volta are at work. The most prominent literary device is anthropomorphism, in which inanimate objects became an extension of the speaker’s emotions. The speaker uses anthropomorphism to convey his desire to escape from the discomfort of his marriage. The poem writes, ‘‘Bedroom slippers become footwear for shuffling up an airy flight of stairs free of this life’, symbolising that this promiscuous relationship is a temporary escape from his usual life. Moreover, he uses personification to describe his covert his discretion. In the line ‘Air-con sighs as discreetly as possible’, he gives the air-con the human ability to sigh, so that the low humming sound of the air-con is compliant with their discreetness. In addition, the usage of volta also shows his vulnerability from a different perspective. The first half of the poem was written from an adult’s perspective, but suddenly, the speaker’s memory drifted back to his childhood, where he was being judged by his father for being gay. The line writes, ‘cowering children press ears to the floor, absorbing the footfalls of fathers retreating, heads lowered in shame or shaking with disgust’. The vivid description of fear and the helpless state of the children further enhances the speaker’s vulnerability. Summing up, the usage of literary devices supported the theme. 

In conclusion, the repressed identity and the vulnerability of being gay is conveyed strongly through a well-organised development, and supported by the usage of literary devices. The poet has skillfully captured the pain of a gay man longing for acceptance.