1bigblackblog

"SOK SABAI TAY"?



from my bed and through the open door i could see
a hilly island fishing boats and the bluest of blue sky....

....but something was missing


i walk across three wooden placks covering a ditch
of running sewage and follow a dirt footpath pass
brilliant greenery and through aromatic humid air
two groups of barefoot young men shout and yell
and play volleyball while nearby motorbikes reclin
in a long row beside a tall bamboo fence

a dog passes and its swollen teats bounce this way
then back as two girls holding cellphones wave their arms
to hale a small pickup truck loaded with pineapples.
beneath flapping blue tarps that cover hand carts of fruits
and rice and various cuts of meat five school boys sit on
metal folding chairs and loudly slurp noodles from tin bowls

the sounds of a woman singing increase as i climb
polished wooden steps and enter a karaoke bar.
taking a seat on a vinyl couch i order a beer
fried grasshoppers with lime and chili and listen
to the woman sing a melancholy love song
as the words crawl left to right on a video monitor.

the song ends i clap my hands and the woman
looking surprised brings her palms together
bows slightly says "ar kun" then comes to sits beside me.
i say "sok sabai" which causes her eyes to widen
"sok sabai sabai!" how you speak 'sok sabai'!?
how you speak khmer?" she says

i look at her eyes her face her smile
"you are a beautiful woman will you sleep with me?".
she says "ooohh you joking! ooohh you joking joking me!"
then places her hands over her blushing face and laughs.
"no joking you" i reply "me and you we sleep together"
softly laughing she leans against my shoulder and
gently says "sok sabai sabai. sok sabai tay?"