January 26, 2019, 01:49 PM 
With the passing of fallen soldier Aloysius Pang, tributes are pouring in and the following one is especially poignant.
Liang Wern Fook is a famous Singaporean musician and lyricist who contributed a lot to our local xinyao (Singapore folk songs) movement.
He recently composed a poem dedicated to the families of sons lost in the course of duty to the country.
It is a short but powerful poem, one that hits close to the heart considering recent events.
This is a Chinese poem so we translated it for you:
To my island country
If war is just an ‘if’
Is grief a necessary training we must go through
When every family hands You their most beloved child
The poem was signed off with Liang's name and dated Jan. 25, 2019.
Liang shared the poem with the caption: "Every son is a soldier, every family has a beloved son."
His poem clearly resonated with Singaporeans.
As of the time of writing, it had received almost 3,000 reactions and almost 2,000 shares on Facebook.
Many Chinese celebrities like Fann Wong, Kate Pang, and Zheng Geping (all of whom have sons) also shared his poem on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtFV0Tqj2I5/
It's a sobering reflection of the price that the families of Singapore sons have to pay to defend the country.
Top images by Liang Wern Fook.
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