earth note 559

 

 

 koh samui to phuket
1988-89

near the equator

the transition between seasons
might escape you

i landed in winter
somewhat disoriented
but by the time summer came
i was fully acclimated
to the heat and moisture

from both east and west coasts

thailand is a bounty of fruit
and lush green
sweet steamy hills
and yellow grasses  

when a farmer or a welder

or a fisher has a day off
there's still the sweat
of mother hands
scrubbing out the laundry

the tides pull you
unconsciously toward the horizon
a blue-green theatre
which needs no script

you make your own

from bicycle wheels
to bob marley cassettes
bananas and mangos
sunday morning heat
leading to a waterfall in a rainforest
just before the monsoon

the road quickly becomes a mad hot river
i think i hear prayer wheels 
a singing bowl 
the brush of orange robes
or silence 

     forever
in the shadows

--- e b bortz