A Place I Have Never Been

A place I Have Never Been This place I travel to Still I have never been. I like the casual feel of your words. I relish the smell of these streets. Words extracted from your experiences. I hungrily accept your invitation. I come along with you to town, to Saigon. Although I have not traveled on these streets, you somehow have made them feel familiar. I choose a red bicycle, the one I wish I had when I was a child. As we ride you salute the spirits. I think “What a strange boy!” You turn and smile and I think “Maybe I am wrong?” The incense of Lang Ong Shrine clings to me. My linen shirt retains the scent. Perhaps with a whiff I can come back here again? You bike quickly in a slow kind of way. I feel pebbles beneath my tires. I like the fortune tellers in the market, but I do not stop. I’m afraid of what they might have to say. Did they for-tell that we would meet here on white pages? I fear I will get lost in the Ba Chieu Market. If I speak who will understand me? Am I willing to barter for a strange bargain? If I could, I too would scale the walls, Evade the police. But I have no worry, for I travel on your waves of thought. “Sandals Sunglasses and Hats!” your strings vibrate. Me I catch your tunes. Thoughts rise like balloons. Red balloons, the colour of my bicycle, the bicycle I never had. Yes I come along with you, to town. Onto the dirt trails of Dong Ong Co. I wish to meet your Dharma uncle at his Temple. Am I being bold? May we share a cup of tea? In being here can my heart be healed? Can I grasp bits of my lost self in a conversation that has not happened? Will Buddha offer me understanding? I step gently for I know I am your guest. My breath incapable of moving air in this place. My footprints don’t disturb the dust. Yet I have somehow arrived here. Who does the Altar belong to? Not to this white ghost from a far off land. Still I am thankful Thankful for the invitation to visit a strangely familiar land. Inspired by Hai Phan’s beautiful poem”Come Along With Me”.