Tuk-tuk clamor
sans glamour
moped kingdom
riders unite to infiltrate traffic
swarming together
narrowly missing side-mirrors
phone booth
then
shrine
then
bus stop
then
shrine
then
street cart
warm sewer smells threaten to entrap and engulf
but we scamper through the intersection
just avoiding impact
with hot pink taxis and wheeled billboards
escaping the clutches of swarming scents and street meat
to the other side
where
swirls of words surround us
the cacophony of squiggle symbols
alien to us
without a point of reference
no ground to grow from
no stone of Rosetta to decode
How delightful!
our language and culture delightingly spare
and even welcomed
no need to cower
from our American-ness
we can throw aside our burden of country
heavy to carry and
so hard to hide from
and be a citizen of the world
so freeing to not face the hate here
So happy to discover new… everything
so little familiar to us, but there!
there it thrusts itself
into the impossibly chaotic harmony
of Thai traffic
golden arches spear the reflections of prostrate followers in the bellies of golden buddhas
crammed into same same stores
paying homage to the King
At least going to see an American movie in Bangkok
you still stand for the Royal Anthem
and sing in Thai
or try
Meagzpeditions 