dedalus Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) I love to bound around and raise the occasional eyebrow in my respectable, hardly staid family, who are so perfectly well-balanced and weird, in the good old Dublin way. And I think this is what bothers them, this enthusiasm: as when you sit half-cut in a Chinese restaurant in Chiang Mai, reloading the trail guard's AK-47. Nothing to it. Off you go so, into the jungle, three days on a healthy sweaty trek landing up some nights at a Lisu village where the women wear their woven clothing. Further in, very close to the Burmese border, or maybe across it, who really knows, you meet the Akha with Victorian coins smashed into necklaces. At night they offer you opium. I may go home months afterwards, to the streets and slanting rain of grey but cosy Dublin, but my people, my parents, aunts and cousins, nephews even, pat me on the head: don't want to know. ----------------------------------------- (original) I love to bound around and leap among the countries of Southeast Asia. They be so perfectly weird, idiotically cool, as when you sit in a Chinese restaurant in Chiang Mai, reloading an AK-47. Nothing to it. I learned all that shit in the Irish army. Off you go so, into the jungle, three days on a sweaty trek landing up at a Lisu village where the women wear strange clothing; and further in, close to the Burmese border, or maybe across it, who really knows, you meet the Akha with Victorian coins smashed into necklaces. At night they offer you opium. Edited March 15, 2011 by dedalus Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lake Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) Glad to read you, Brendan. Enjoyed reading your exotic experience traveling around. At nightthey offer you opium. Be careful. Now the nuclear plant meltdown is another threat. Take care. Lake Edited March 14, 2011 by Lake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdelano Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I love to bound aroundand leap among the countries of Southeast Asia. They be so perfectly weird, idiotically cool, as when you sit in a Chinese restaurant in Chiang Mai, reloading an AK-47. Nothing to it. I learned all that shit in the Irish army. Off you go so, into the jungle, three days on a sweaty trek landing up at a Lisu village where the women wear strange clothing; and further in, close to the Burmese border, or maybe across it, who really knows, you meet the Akha with Victorian coins smashed into necklaces. At night they offer you opium. Do they still make "Four Seasons" gold bracelets in Chiang Mai? Long train ride from Bangkok. fdh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I always enjoy your exotic adventures, Brendan. I'm always relieved when they resonate with the same sentiment once expressed by a certain Ice Cube: "Today I didn't even have to use my A.K./I got to say it was a good day." Tony Quote Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Oops! This was a very giddy poem coming out of selected memory. The impulse was OK but the execution was sloppy. I've had another look at it and maybe it works a little bit better second time around. One lives in hope .... Is Mise, B PS - We've just had another earthquake, 10.32 pm local time. This is really starting to piss me off Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hello Brendan glad hear you are safe. Some enjoyable and colourful imagery here. I like the thought of “Victorian coins smashed into necklaces.” I prefer your revised version; mainly for it's family references which imply a 'black sheep'. And also for the lines, “I may go home/ months afterwards, to the streets and slanting rain/ of grey but cosy Dublin”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedalus Posted March 16, 2011 Author Share Posted March 16, 2011 delano, dear fellow ... I took the overnight bus from Bangkok and zoned out but I do remember taking an endless train ride (possibly coming back) in which I bought a pint naggin of local whiskey for consolation along the way and discovered a smudgy stamp behind the label - you had to peer through the bottle - which assured me it had been distilled and bottled yesterday. Well, you wouldn't want things to go stale .... Quote Drown your sorrows in drink, by all means, but the real sorrows can swim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonqueen Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I must say I prefer the revised version, as it fleshed the piece out, nicely. Often we spend our time trying to make our words fewer, but in this case, more was the answer. I have never been anywhere, really, nor done anything of interest in my lifetime but, these kinds of pieces, much like books, take me where I will never travel, just briefly. Enjoyed this one. Stay safe. Tammi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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