…eyes wide now
and you’ll see
the mighty monkey king
going double dutch
in his own island heaven
again
“you pay me
to show you how
brown
is supposed
to be”
this after all
is the regime
of the mighty
Australian-Hungry empire
gulping down
nasi gorengs and gado gados
and belching out
fly-infested beer-stained
bars
proudly proclaiming
“aussie owned, aussie hygeine”
swallowing whole
art, artist, artisan
and vomiting out
row after row after row
of curios
licking clean
every inch of green
from beaches
and villages
and volcanoes
and spitting out
fumes and acid rain
and power boats
yesyesyesyesyes
this is how we do it
indeed
65 year old white men
reaching across continents
to walk handinhandonass
with 20 year old balinese women
pristine beaches
with white sand
browner than
those browning on them
the dutch have taught
so well and so much –
I couldn’t even
feel the lurch
when I skipped
from the old colony
to this new reconstructed
beauty
and yet…..