You might have heard by now about the late full-time National Serviceman Dave Lee, who died from a heatstroke on April 30 that left him in a coma for 12 days.

In the past week, many Singaporeans have expressed their views about the circumstances leading to the 19-year-old's death, including his aunts, who are calling for the truth to be made public:

"Singaporean Son"

One Low Kian Seh, however, expressed his personal feelings about Lee's passing by penning a poignant twin cinema poem titled "Singaporean Son".

It was first uploaded to Facebook group SingPoWriMo (Singapore Poetry Writing Month), a poetry group on Facebook, on Saturday, May 5.

3 ways to read

Twin cinema poetry, which originated in Singapore, consists of two columns and can be read in three ways:

Just the left column

"we send him to his camp, not

knowing what happens inside, but

to give his all,

it is what we would expect of him

after all, it is the absolute duty of

all the able-bodied

to serve the nation

surely

we do not need to question

in order to justify we

ought to have

national service:

process of a boy becoming a man

we know he always does his best but

just what is enough"

Just the right column

"to his death

we know he will fight

to defend his country - 

but not like this.

officers and sergeants to ensure

soldiers train safely

within expected limits - 

this is a must.

the exact circumstances

need investigation and

closure.

a mother's heartbreak 

is beyond words.

who else would know

when the boy is not making his way home?"

Both together:

"we send him to his camp, not to his death

knowing what happens inside, but we know he will fight

to give his all, to defend his country - 

it is what we would expect of him but not like this.

after all, it is the absolute duty of officers and sergeants to ensure

all the able-bodied soldiers train safely 

to serve the nation within expected limits - 

surely this is a must.

we do not need to question the exact circumstances

in order to justify we need investigation and 

ought to have closure.

national service: a mother's heartbreak

process of a boy becoming a man is beyond words.

we know he always does his best but who else would know

just what is enough when the boy is not making his way home?"

Writer emotionally overwhelmed by mother's interview

Speaking to Mothership about his poem, Low shared that as a father and as a Singapore citizen, he was moved to pen it:

"I was writing this as a concerned citizen and also as a father of two sons, who will one day have to serve National Service."

He said he felt emotionally overwhelmed while watching a video of an interview Lee's mother did with the media, where she said the following line in response to a question asking if she felt whether the support given by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was enough:

"What is enough when the boy is not making his way home?"

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Poem written in 30 minutes

That very sentence compelled him to write and finish the poem in about 30 minutes.

"The main parts of the poem formed itself in my head relatively fast, and was out in 15 min. I spent another 15 min tweaking the choice of words and their placement to ensure the poem reads properly in all three ways."

The poem has since garnered more than 800 reactions and over 700 shares.

Some people also commended Low for his "powerful" writing.

Responding to the wave of reactions and shares to his poem, Low said he was surprised by how strongly his personal response resonated with people, but recognises that many Singaporeans have been struck by Lee's death:

"I'm glad there are people who appreciate the poem either in craft or sentiment, but I mainly wish to offer my sincere condolences to Dave's family."

You can read his original post here.

Top image via Jasmine Yeo's Facebook page