11:59 p.m. - 2005-02-26
whimsical poems about laos trip
Here are some poems about the laos trip; they were originally written for the documentary but they were too whimsical.
1. The morning was bright
we left nakasang
the mainland town
on a shaky boat.
The mekong river was huge
but we still can't imagine
that there are 4000 islands here.
Our destination was Don Dhet
A small island among the 4000.
We were on a mission
to document the villager's lives.
Except the unexpected!
we were not the first to come to Don Dhet.
There are tourists here.
2. farang farang
that means foreigner
an outsider.
Panmaha, Mr. Vong,
we stayed in their guesthouses
the bed was cosy
the food delicious
we sang
how about breakfast at Panmaha's?
and then forgot the rest
we didn't think of ourselves as farang.
3. there is a beautiful waterfall
called Li Phi
Li means trap
and Phi means dead bodies.
Together, it is a trap for dead bodies.
If you're smart
you'll know
this waterfall is dangerous.
(funny conversation recall: wiffle and cisoux and me were walking along the safer areas of the cliffs near the waterfalls while the rest of the Laos expedition team were climbing down the sides and trying to get nice scenery shots. Then wiffle or cisoux asked me what i thought about the waterfall. And i was still a bit freaked out by the shaky boat trip and tired and i missed home. looking at the gushing water pouring over the rocks and making a huge din like a super huge longkang with brown water and white foam from all that churning... i only felt sad and scared. there were 18 or more days to go untill the whole trip is finished. i wanted to go home. i felt like jumping into the rushing brown waters. like they say, "die die must go home.")
3. Early in the morning
the light in the sky
sets the beginning of a new day.
i look out the window
and the river is still there
flowing along as it always does.
the sound of motor boats
fishermen going off to check their traps
are there any fish?
4. children
they are dressed
in different sorts of the same uniform
going to school
to learn about reading and writing
and that their one river passes
through many other places
and that life takes many forms
the trees, the birds, the fish
and their river.
5. At night, everything is dark.
far away from the mainland
the only source of electricity
are the diesel generators.
the children from the neighbourhood
gather in front of the television set
and watch their regular show
a comedy from a thai channel
at 10pm, the hum of the generators die off,
the children return to their homes
and other sounds begin to fill the night.
visitors from outer space rustle the grass outside our bedroom window!
6. Born as a spring in the mountains
the mekong river passes many places.
As it reaches the south of laos
it grows tremendously
spreading across the 4000 islands.
yet, like the passage of life,
it knows that one day
it must return to the sea.
