Palau Perhentian Kecil no.2; Call to Prayer

They sit
Brownskinned and oceansided
Music in the air
Black tangles of unwashed hair
Islamic scripts embossed in green and gold
On the wall beside a lit Carlsberg sign
Cans of Thai beer in hand
Green and gold its script
Speakerstacks in wooden cabinets
Sizable as any other fixture in the
House (the Bar which houses us)
No walls, a ceiling only and hanging
Electric lanterns in emptied
Bamboo shoots
Leaning on low tables
Soles rudely open and elbows
Rudely propping us up on the
Hewn and lacquered surface
Our offenses draw no
Declamation
Only
Another round of perspiring cans.



February 2012 Palau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia