A Thai Morning...

schiz0phren1c

Hi all,new member here with quite a large body of work in Street/Slam Poetry and Rap,
I've(relatively)recently started writing travel stories too,and am just back from two years in South East Asia,
this is one example of my recent work,
it was published in the Irish Times(Travel Section 23 January this year),
and will also be a chapter starter in an upcoming book.
All creative criticism welcome.

A Thai Morning
This morning at 08:30am as I lay in my apartment bed(luxuriating in that"Dont have to get up yet") feeling,
I was reminded once again,that although I am living in the huge Metropolis of Bangkok,
I am also living in the Orient,the far flung,dream tinted East,with all its beauty and mystery.
I was reminded in the most beautiful and peaceful way.

On hearing a sonorous yet melodic music wafting from the courtyard at the back of my Sukhumvit condo,
I awoke,shook myself,dressed and walked to my 3rd floor kitchen window -which looks down directly into the carpark
at the rear of the Condo that also houses the"Spirit house" or shrine for the building
(All Thai building's have a spirit house,from the meanest hut to the most massive corporation skyscraper)

As I looked down towards the shrine I saw five Thai ladies,
of all ages and descriptions,but each looking every inch a stately graceful queen in their traditional Thai golden dancing outfits and pagoda hats,
all twisting and twirling in that beautiful graceful purely Thai way,
chanting together in a lilting,rising intertwining song that seemed to lace itself around both the dance and the music
which was provided by 3 plainly dresses men secluded in a corner with one drum,one triangle,and a bamboo"Zylophone"(I believe it is known as a "Ranat Thum").

The beauty of the dance and music was offset in a charming way by the fact that this was no dry ceremonial ritual,
each lady was obviously enjoying herself immensely as she twirled and cocked her hands,
the smiles were many and genuine,and the stylised elements of the dance were offset by the joyful,and spontaneous feel of the whole event,
and the way the music changed,speeding up and slowing down in an almost playful manner as the ladies matched its tempo effortlessly in both movement and song.

This was no show either,
the only onlookers were a few Thai people who lit incense and candles and one farang who snapped pictures and video from my window
(I also lit some incense at my window and wished for good luck and happiness for all my family and loved ones).

The incongruity of looking out the window of an apartment block in the middle of what isn't exactly temple country!,
(I live in the middle of sukhumvit Soi 4,which is more known for its sin and bustle than its beauty)
and seeing such a wonderful glimpse into the Buddhist/Thai way was akin to looking out of your Dublin,London or New York office window
and catching a glimpse of the distant past,a parade,a procession,you see,again,in description...words fail me.
I can only say again that I was delighted,and uplifted.

They continued for forty minutes as I stood captivated at my window,
and then with no fuss packed up and went,
leaving me with an immense feeling of peace,and contentment which lingers now,hours later as I write these few lines,
which can describe only the outline of a beautiful memory.

P.S. I phoned and asked my Thai girlfriend
(who is visiting family at the moment)what the occasion was,and she said it was simply to ask for good luck
for a business venture and favour from Buddha for all who dwell in this building).

Johnny Meagher

Hi schiz0phen1c,
I've decided that if I read someone's work on this I am going to post a reply, there are threads with "reads" and no replies, which is fine but if you read something you have a reaction and you are looking for reactions I guess.

Maybe people from the Far East (East of what???) say to themselves "Europe with all its beauty and mystery" but I'm not sure they do. A mystery is something that can not be understood or explained. Like the mystery of the Trinity in Catholic theology. I believe that cultural practice can be explained and in such a way that we can all appreciate it. that doesn't have to mean it is not still beautiful. After all, what you saw was a mystery only for you, not for them. What is great about your piece is that it describes stuff, I didn't know there was a spirit house attached to everything, I got a little thrill from that! You say what you witnessed was not a show, but I am sure sometimes it is, like our Irish dancing is sometimes and we all love to see a bit of Irish dancing in a pub somewhere off the cuff, no pretence. It is lovely to see new things, and to feel a sense of wonder is beautiful. Some people look at this and say "weirdos" just because they are different to what we know. You are not like that and it really comes across, I just don't like the language in places. I know you are being genuine but for me it encourages an approach to cultures other than our own that isn't as open as it might be. People like us from the Western cultural tradition own the world media, we own the internet, we own the means of travel, we own the world political structures (largely speaking, though I love the changes that are happening in that regard) but our culture is just one of many. I am totally not talking about your personally, ok? I am talking about language. I'd have felt the same sense of wonderment, but why do I feel that? Did they? I am sure they felt something, but not wonderment. So to make the point that mainly it is me, who doesn't know about what is going on and didn't participate, maybe I'd say "fascinated" not "captivated". I dunno, I think to speak of wonderment and captivation can disencourage curiosity and investigation. Again, not you but the effect maybe your choice of words might have. Ah well don't mind me, I have a language allergy! certain words make me tingle (like "normal" etc)

schiz0phren1c

Thank you for your reply Johnny,
and for your creative criticism too,
I would only reply that although I do not disagree in principle with any of your points,
the words I wrote came straight from the heart,on the spot,with no filter,no attempt to be objective,and no thought beyond sharing my own joy and sense of "Wonder":)
and have not/will not be edited.
And that the sense of wonderment I felt was the same I would hope a Thai person would feel seeing the sun shine through the center of Newgrange on a winter Solstice,
or seeing the work that went into the book of Kells,
or too many more to mention...

"Wonder-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wundor; akin to Old High German wuntar wonder
1 a : a cause of astonishment or admiration : MARVEL <it's a wonder you weren't killed> <the pyramid is a wonder to behold> b : MIRACLE
2 : the quality of exciting amazed admiration
3 a : rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience"

Johnny Meagher

fair enough, I hope I made it clear I didn't doubt your sincerity. I wasn't writing from the point of view of suggesting you change it, you've already published it. Had I seen the piece in the Irish Times that is how I would have reacted, that's all. New Grange is a genuine mystery, we wonder at it too. anyway, take care.