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poems by
Bryan Thao Worra
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Blessing Or A Curse
You stand before those mad doors
Choosing between a writhing maiden
Who knows nothing of your world
Or a starved tiger whose grandmother
Chewed on the Buddha before he was the Buddha,
whose belly has known the taste of heroes.
Seconds tick by, a scimitar bolted
To a circular saw-blade
Set in the eye-sockets of dying tyrants.
Ah, to be able to see either door as a delight
Every heartbeat
An escape hatch
The spirit of Houdini wiggled through
Taking you with him
Five shaking fingers at a time.
Khaosan Road, 2003
The cheapest souls troll here for vice.
Every cabbie knows a shortcut to
Patpong And the attractions of Soi Cowboy.
That's my sister your lying in.
Those are my youngest brothers you've got on
Your pasty arms by the Marco Polo
I'm standing by the used book tables
On the street where your buddies
Dumped your sweaty copies
Of "Siddhartha" and the "Kama Sutra"
When you come up to me and ask if I want
To buy your used edition of "Lonely Planet: Thailand"
Because you need some baht fast
To keep a tattooed pimp from taking you
Around the corner
To the Never Seen Again Bar.
I should have pity for you,
But I'm using my last change
To call for a cab out of here.
