Laos Extract

The true beauty of this country is lost as I wander its quiet waterways, alone and desperate searching for a moment of grace, and it’s the heart bound couples drinking the glory of the sun and the sweet smell of rain that destroy me. Half glimpsed fingers tracing love lines tear strips off my soul as the gentle Mekong swells against my shores. Even the soft smiles of the river men and their families wash over while I stare at the canopied skyline hiding the horizon.

Gently I lie on my bed, stricken by a vision of a light floating on the river, guiding me downstream as the scorpions’ swarm, too scared to move lest I slide into the dark unseen. Silently I slip between moonlit Karsts, mingle tears with monsoon rivers weeping silently with ghosts of yesteryear, stroking the memory of your smile, till sleep comes at last, fitful and sweat stained, your hand holding mine in dreams, your face fading into the night.