Tag: laos (page 1 of 5)

monk lovers

she loved me for a matter of seconds
but her affair with the monks promises
to be a lifelong obsession hey that hurts—
right there doc can you lance jab pop it
cut it out? look at this it's a postcard
she sent me—monks! you think that's
trivial? wait till you see the photos!
monks on bicycles monks on chao phraya
river express ferry monks carrying food
bowls happy monks monks sitting on the
'reserved for the monk' bench in hualam-
phong railway station monks watching tv
monks patting mutant temple dogs & monks
hanging out—oh to be a monk!
                  
                                         —ouch!

bangkok: city of angles

timpani crash /tuk-tuk

          caged verandah /air-con

                    little bells /squid vendor

                              fecund waterway /chao phraya

                                        police helmet /city intersection

                              pollution viaduct /sky train

                    hardware section /chinatown

          pirate tape stand /thanon khao san

shining stupa /urban wat

thomas pynchon & the art of anonymity maintenence

the choice of sunglasses is impor-tant
but on the maple leaf? ray-bans are out
too miami vice ... beatle specs no dead
giveaway (tint in sunlight) chem-mart?

anonymous average ok collared shirt
i'd prefer a gaudy hunter s. thompson
hawaiian no. but beige is a city colour
camouflage same with pants & as for
loafers? i shudder ... afraid so ... dumb

haircut also necessary a weekday's truly
impenetrable disguise thus my surprised
& anxious fury in the bright

       ––click!

i shouted

fuck you pal! on my way back to Macy's
but on reflection maybe the cheap fucking
sunglasses did give me away after all.

cities on the move

it is the year 2542 BE - in bangkok
the streets are flooded with people 543
years in advance of the western world
but only 7 hours ahead of GMT - in the
meantime football grips the nation &
entropy invades every available thanon
& soi art flourishes in the city moving
slowly north towards this exhibition of
student works the highlight of which is
a collection of flower pots - the artist
encourages me to take one but fearful of
customs & strange looks i decline thinking
who knows what strange plant might emerge
from this soil & what colour flower bloom?

Tuk-tuk

life -
cough-cough go-go fast-fast slow-slow
break-break flow-flow honk-honk hel-lo
where-you go-go tuk-tuk hi-ho
same-same no-no thao-rai cheap-cheap
silk-silk wat-wat guess-so o-kay
go-go gem-shop strip-show no-no
go-slow wait-wait oh-ho go-go
bang-kok tuk-tuk cough-cough stop-go
one-two i-know left-left no-no
go-go tuk-tuk cough-cough khao-san
face-mask whiz-whiz cough-cough poi-son
cough-cough tuk-tuk cough-cough go-go
same-same don't-stop cough-cough car-fume
tuk-tuk cough-cough cough-cough tuk-tuk
- death