Reservist by Boey Kim Cheng 
Time again for the annual joust, the regular fanfare,
a call to arms, the imperative letters stern
as clarion notes, the king’s command, upon
the pain of court-martial, to tilt
at the old windmill. With creaking bones
and suppressed grunts, we battle-weary knights
creep to attention, ransack the wardrobes
for our rusty armour, tuck the pot bellies
with great finesse into the shrinking gear
and with helmets shutting off half our world,
report for service. We are again united
with sleek weapons we were betrothed to
in our active cavalier days.
We will keep charging up the same old hills, plod
through the same old forests, till we are too old,
too ill-fitted for life’s other territories.
The same trails will find us time and time again,
and we quick to obey, like children placed
on carousels they cannot get off from, borne
along through somebody’s expensive fantasyland,
with an oncoming rush of tedious rituals, masked threats
and monsters armed with the same roar.
In the end we will perhaps surprise ourselves
and emerge unlikely heroes with long years
of braving the same horrors
pinned on our tunic fronts.
We will have proven Sisyphus is not a myth
We will play the game till the monotony
sends his lordship to sleep.
We will march the same paths till they break
onto new trails, our lives stumbling
onto the open sea, into the daybreak.
Analysis of "Reservist" by Boey Kim Cheng
Boey Kim Cheng poem, "Reservist", centres on military service, aging, duty, repetition, and the longing for freedom.
The opening line of Boey Kim Cheng's "Reservist" begins with the words: "Time again for the annual 'Joust', the regular fanfare".
The poem describes the military men as old people who often return to their military service yearly, "annual joust."
Because of old age and change in body, their military equipment do not fit them as it used to be in their early years of service.
The military call-up is noted in the poem line as "a call to arm", which suggests military connection to war.
The letters dispatched to them are inscribed as "clarion notes", with directives of a "king's command."
The poem makes reference to "court martial", which indicate that punishment awaits whosoever that refuses a military order.
But beyond the military order, these soldiers are people who are old, with "creaking bones", and they make often "suppressed groans" due to their age.
These old military men always forage their wardrobe for their "rusty armor". The military uniform which they wear are described and compared to armor worn by knights.
The military men have "pot bellies". This is noted in the poem line: "Tuck their pot bellies/ with great finesse into the shrinking gear."
In spite of the fact that their helmet are shutting off half of our world, they frequently find themselves in a different world when they wear their military uniform.
The second stanza exposes that the military men know what they ought to do, since it is a repeated routine yearly. The soldiers know very well they will "keep charging up the same old hill and plod? through the same old forest".
The use of the word "plod" suggests the boredom which accompanies the military service. The poet says despite all this, they will stay in the military until they are "too old? too ill-fitted for life or the territories."
These old military soldiers, despite their age, are being compared to children placed on carousel. They cannot get off from.
The image given here is that the soldiers find themselves in a conditional system that is out of their control.
The carousel is simply a repetition. Hence the soldiers are caught in a web of returning to military service annually.
There are rules in military service. This rule is being set up by individuals who are not actually experiencing the discomfort of the military training.
The soldiers' experience in the military training is described by the poet as tedious rituals, maxed threat and monsters, armed with the same roar.
These monsters suggest symbolically diminutive vehicles, weapons, machine, or imaginary enemies set up for the purpose of the training.
The third stanza of the poem depicts hope as stated by the poet: In the end we will perhaps surprise ourselves and emerge unlikely heroes.
The poet's above expression, containing perhaps, indicate uncertainty. The use of the word "Sisyphus" showcases the repeated military service.
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was punished to push a stone up the hill. The problem emanates when Sisyphus realized that the stone always rolled down despite his effort.
Therefore, to the poet, he says: "We will have proven Sisyphus is not a myth".
By this statement, the poet means the endless repetition of the military service.
The poet vows that they will continue the repetition of the military service until the authority behind it becomes bored or tired.
The poem line is factually noted: "We will play the game till the monotony/ sends its lordship to sleep."
The last line of the poem is encompassed with great hope as the poet promises that:
"We will march the same path till they break, onto new trails, our lives tumbling/ onto open sea in the daybreak."
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