TOP One-way

DESTINY?

See
A light
At the end
Of the tunnel?
A distant promise
Beyond the horizon
Beckoning us, tauntingly
All efforts to reach it, thwarted
Remaining constantly elusive
Such is the nature of our destiny

Matinee Muse 6 Premonition Seductive

THE VIEW FROM LIMBO

We used to be close, but now
You spend too much time reading
THAT BOOK
What is the fascination?
You never show emotions
In your day-to-day routine
As that volume can inspire
IS THE STORY
A work of classic fiction?
Will it become a movie?
A compelling biopic?
It is a biography
But not a very long one
Still, for years you have read…and read
Ignoring my discomfort
These should have been the best years
OF MY LIFE

TOP Edgar Allen Poe

PROPHET

The kid
Showed me
Some pictures
He’d painted

His use
Of form
And colour
Were naïve

But something
Made me look,
And look again
The simplicity
Of the images
Inspired
Subliminal
Stimulation
For the
Complexity
Of the message
He was attempting
To convey in oils

From the palette
Of an innocent babe
A vision
Of a world,
No eyes had seen

Matinee Muse 5

BEFORE AND AFTER

My dream is the light
That pours from my hands
It gives me strength,
And the courage I lack
I have good cause
To trust in its demands
As it guides me and
Guards me from attack
This ear to ear smile
I’ll never replace
It will bring me
Good luck, and line my purse
In later life
I will assume my place
Among legends
Celebrated in verse
Abreast of advances
I’ll guarantee
My spot in the limelight
The public gaze
Dynamic and
Flexible, all will see
My life’s achievements
Are worthy of praise

My reality
Darkness; broken strands
Weakness as
The glow fades
To grey; light black
Lost faith, lost direction
In foreign lands
Beaten, forsaken
And stabbed in the back
Emotions betrayed
I’ve no poker face
Life has prepared me to
Expect the worse
In youth I was able
To set the pace
Yesterday’s blessing; life
Is today’s curse
The onslaught of
Modern technology
Cast me adrift
In an uncharted maze
Aggressive, relentless
- A Tsunami
Scatters its debris
…All my yesterdays

TOP Three Dogs

IT'S A DOG'S LIFE

Male
Do you see my coat, how it shines?
The lustre that truly defines
My rich pedigree
My proud legacy
A cut above other canines

Female
You think I’m a mongrel bitch
However, my blood-line is rich
I have the credentials
To do the essentials
You’re a dog; you’ll succumb to the itch



What we got


On view for the first time today
The result of their roll in the hay
A pocket-sized puppy
The son of a yuppie
And the siren who led him astray

Matinee Muse 4

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR:
Must be what we had when we thought it was
OK to play God, and destroy the Earth, in the
name of progress

IT NEVER RAINS

Clouds congest the sky
A tear forms in her eye
Heaven’s lethargic response
To our Mother Earth’s thirst – she was once

Fertile, draped in green
Extravagant…? Obscene…?
Stripped naked and violated
Gang-raped by man’s unabated

Lust for Mother’s hoard
She screams; her cry ignored
Inevitable consequence
Irreversible course of events

Ice embraces fire
Sworn enemies conspire
As four seasons merge into one
Mother wilts in the heat of the sun

Dehydrated veins
Trace scars across the plains
Her bosom deprived of the good
And her legacy…? Rivers of blood

Still the violence flows
No respite, no repose
Abused to satiate the greed
Of arrogant minds that did not heed

Mother’s plaintive call
The writing on the wall
Fair warning; a chance to repent
To console Mother Earth’s sad lament

Dark clouds gather yet
To pose a welcome threat
The weather’s ironic display
Taunts her briefly, and then turns away

Apathy prevails
Obstinate; hard as nails
“Don’t fix what ain’t broke, it’s the norm
Just the calm that precedes every storm”

Emphasise that word –
“Storm” – it may sound absurd
But for our sins, we shall atone
So it is written…so shall it be done

TOP Lost Stuff

Cultural identity relies on tradition. If we lose,
or ignore our traditions, we lose our identity.
‘Morlam’ is an expression of Isan cultural identity.
Isan is the NE region of Thailand.

LAOS SOUP

Morlam is a celebration
Of cultural preservation
A musical presentation
Of Isan lifestyle themes

Passed down as an education
Through every generation
The history of the nation
The hopes, the fears, the dreams

Songs release us from our strife
Fundamental trials of life
Songs release us from our strife
Face each day with a smile

Hardship, poverty and toil
Hardship, poverty and toil
Reap the harvest of the soil
Face each day with a smile

Arom dee – a cheerful mood
Adjustment of our attitude
‘Eat to live; don’t live for food’
Simple fare sustains us

Soup Laos, normai, plar, larb moo
Het fang, somtam, prik khee noo
Kin khap khao-nieow, plar lar, ping noo
Simple fare sustains us

Serb lai derr; aroi mark mark
Serb lai derr; aroi mark mark
Ta wow Laos dai, ko arb park
Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’

Ta wow Laos dai, ko arb park
Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’
Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’
Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’


SOUP LAOS
Soup made from leaf and root vegetables,
and seasoned with various herbs and spices.
(served with sticky rice)
NORMAI
Bamboo shoots (served with sticky rice)
PLAR
Fish (served with sticky rice)
LARB MOO
Chopped and seasoned pork – cooked lightly (often eaten raw)
and served with blood and intestinal fluid (and sticky rice)
HET FANG
Mushrooms that grow on the decomposing root and stalk debris,
resulting from the rice harvest (served with sticky rice)
SOMTAM
or PAPAYA POK-POK – The hot, sour and bitter salad,
made from shredded, unripened papaya, seasoned with
fresh lime juice, fish sauce and copious amounts of chillies
(Served with sticky rice)
PRIK KHEE NOO
Small and extremely hot chillies
Literal translation ‘mouse-shit chillies’
KIN KHAP KHAO-NIEOW
‘Eat with sticky rice’
PLAR LAR
or PLAR DEK – A pungent fish sauce, made from the
fermented carcasses of fish, which abound in the rainy season
PING NOO
Barbecued rat (served with sticky rice)
SERB LAI DERR
Isan dialect for ‘very delicious’
AROI MARK MARK
Thai for ‘very delicious’
TA WOW LAOS DAI, KO ARB PARK
‘If you can speak Laos (Isan dialect), then open your mouth’
TE BOR WOW ‘BOR SANUK’
‘But don’t say you’re not happy’

Matinee Muse 3

Misguided commitment to someone
who wanted TO BE FREEE

LADY BLUE

Lady Blue, why do you weep?
Am I really worth your tears?
Better men have held your heart
Shared your passion, nursed your fears

What do you dream, Lady Blue
Behind the shroud of darkness?
Night-times veil insulates
Your secret, silent desires

Intimacy deserts you
Lady Blue, when we’re alone
What are those latent feelings?
Do they yearn another one?

Still, you cry, when you’re alone
Your subconscious, Lady Blue,
Mourns the passing of our love
A love I believed was true

I’m a stronger person now;
My honest self-assessment.
Lady Blue, your love-light pales
Afraid of my commitment?

You drag your past behind you
Characteristically
It’s another ‘Lady Blue’
Lame idiosyncrasy

Turmoil ravages my thoughts
Lost Souls and I, take a walk
Brings me back to my senses
Lady Blue, I want to talk

I came to a decision
Based on my time spent with you
My verdict, my conclusion
You are not my Lady blue


This time…we’re in this thing together. Let’s try
to remember WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE… each other

COMING TO TERMS

Tell me I’m wrong; tell me I got it wrong
You think you’re right; you always think you’re right
If I were you, I know what I would do
Keep out of sight, so we don’t have to fight

Competition; you want pole position
You won’t take less than a resounding ‘yes’.
If I say ‘no’, you just tell me to go
Let’s take a guess; my fault we’re in a mess?

Each time you say you want things your own way
You change your mind, telling me I’m unkind
It’s very sad; the things we could have had
But what we find, is we left it behind

Where did it go; the love you used to show?
You were so good; you always said we could
Beat all the odds. You believed that the gods
Were in the know, and our future would glow

If we were true to ourselves, really true
We’d learn from past mistakes and make it last
For our lifetime. Now that we’re in our prime
We shouldn’t rue all the things we’ve been through

Let’s make a vow, as we stand, here and now
What made us cry can just lie down and die
We will never forget its forever
I love you now; I’ll never forget how