Davey Dreamnation

fireworks rupture the temple on the hill’s
serenity the interior’s panorama suffocated
by a buddhist vision of hell flavoured with
more than a dash of hindu horror — here’s
a massacre of men & women sawn in half
by grinning & willing fellow men & women
here’s old buddha himself count his ribs
this is before he discovers the middle
path still there [...]

armed with their hideouts & slingshots
& smiles they gather at nightfall beside
a rocky river road to compete in monied
contests dodge tuk-tuks & flurries of
laughter now pulling the notes from their
pockets & placing them on the road’s river
brown & then throwing their thongs from
line-marks towards jackpots of fluttering
notes /see the worn old thongs skim! &
the bigger [...]

depressed as the prices no longer
deluded by smiles passing signposts
kilometres coming no closer to what
were once called destinations — border
crossings & pass-outs different games
same rules waiting for the photo-op
that might make the cost of the ticket
worthwhile — low season, last days &
the promise of last rains again linger
as clouds obstruct an aeroplane’s view
let tomorrow’s dawn [...]

in bundles my friend!
in every pocket!
stuff those notes!
hang the exchange rate!
just get out there &
start handing it over!
spend it daily!
spend it gaily!
but wait — there’s more!
it’s all for sale!
everything must go!
clothes looks lifestyles —
out the door!
but wait — there’s still more!
you can buy it —
come on & try it!
talk’s cheap —
you can buy that too!
but [...]

under the pavement, laos in dissent:
a skin full of worn bones, the footprint’s
masseuse, a fist full of pavements & laos
under laos, the mekhong’s predictions:
swallowing bombs, reeking dimly of lao
beer on a menu full of laos & mekhongs
under the mekhong, the current’s advance:
upon an unknown beach, a silent chorus,
from a porous row of mekhongs & currents
under [...]

ah! luang prabang ancient capital unesco
world heritage magnificently preserved
in pristine condition please bring cameras
film & kleenex for the mop-up /click! &
we’re off through the view-finder: monks
kiddies grannies trannies ripe for developing
when you get back to your secret laboratory
national geographic are definitely interested
oh i’m spent! /i’m spent again! / how the stock
churns like spectators through a [...]

cock & football! it’s time to get up &
don’t those horny roosters know it!
cock & football! cock & football! around
the brown river bend here comes dawn’s
breaker rise & shine cock & football! cock
& football! cock-a-doodle-do! it’s morning
once again & don’t those poor hens know it!
cock & football! your smoking pleasure!
international! now available — via satellite
in [...]

visit laos & bring your wheelbarrow
pretend this isn’t communism gone nuts
ignore the poorly-organised protesters
turn a blind eye to the fall of the wall
incarcerate yourself in a capitalist prison
you’re lucky to have been arrested here
now there’s nothing left between you &
the socialist state’s caring attitude towards
intellectuals & slogan-dodgers do not float
canldle-boats on the mekhong & don’t [...]

Nothing to report as usual save a badly bruised
rump boy the Lao sure know how to build a road!
as for the jeep well the driver was adamant that
i ride in the back for fear of bandits who as usual
failed to materialise (as did Captain Haddock —
having discovered the medicinal value of sang sam [...]

standing at attention
a column of white gums
awaits its commander’s
final orders — over the top!
down the embankment!
secure all garden plots
& fish traps! then down
the mekhong we go—
all in a row sir yes sir
drowning at attention sir
ye loyal diggers /saplings
planted when? & for
what strange reason?
in dust-blown vientiane
in the service of her majesty
ye brave snow-white gums
form a levee [...]

baht (t): thai unit of currency (in 1999 1 baht=$AU 0.25)
chao le (t): sea gypsies
chao phraya (t): the river that flows through bangkok
cock & football (l): a lao brand of rolling papers
farang (t): any western (read: white) person or tourist
karen (t): one of the indigenous hill tribes of northern
 thailand & burma
khob khun khrap (t): “thankyou [...]