Pepsi

In my dreams

Monks laugh

And drink Pepsi 

Under tarps in markets

Where the air is thick and warm

Wafting scents of spices and fish

Coking sausages

And pungent durian

Eyes adjust from glaring sun

To shadowy passages

Between stalls

In my dreams

I weave my way 

Through colourful crowds

In loose clothing

Past jungles of ferns and orchids

And crates of fresh yellow mangoes

Spiky rambutans

Plump dragon fruit

Chasing a woman on a mission

For fried potatoes and plantains

The monks in burnt orange

Have nowhere to go

Content drinking syrupy liquid

Relaxing in the afternoon heat

Present and aware

Motorcycle

You sweep a wide arch in front of me

Black on black

Gleaming in the sun

My foot falls fast on the pedal

As your life flashes before my eyes

One short instant

Torn apart by greying asphalt

Before you ride clear

Leaving me in awe of life’s fragility

Sharpening the landscape

Casting the afternoon in a dream-like glow