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 the current, the riverbed’s half-truths:
imprints of bottles where eyes once shone,
yawns in a mouth full of currents & riverbeds

under the riverbed, the earth’s velocity:
half-lies boring rings in fire, extinguished
by the scrutiny of riverbeds & earth

under the earth, the fossil’s remainder:
snails that spiral, ladders of chance, scratches
in sandstone outlining earth & fossils

under the fossil, the stone’s logic:
a dead language rehydrated then vaporised
by the closeness of fossils & stones