Dubious detour

I arrived as the wake of the last ferry
disappeared into the hazy horizon.
Precious time away from the classrooms
in South Korea, I was there,
turvy-topsy, downside-up.

My weekend escape had snagged,
the next ferry was in the morning,
so I spent the night, another one,
there. My mental malevolence rose

meandering the streets looking for a bed,
I decided to go at that moment
to a sauna. Wonderful! Highly recommended.
Spas flow to hot rooms through to pools all reclining
but naked. Know one told me.
I was different, they told me.

Classy 'cheese', the décor spread over
four floors, cream marble, football fields
of rooms: massage, DVD, internet, karaoke.
When not near the water dressed in matching, not quite cotton,
simple shorts and t-shirts. Women all in pink, men in baby blue.
Children in green, light and free to roam, unrestrained,
just without their desks and chairs.

Families and friends spend the evening at the sauna.
I could hardly sleep all sprawled and scattered
on a heated floor, no beds, no mats, just one
marble slab to tolerate and a wooden block, my pillow,
waiting for the ferry.

Family Room

I peep in and see my mother,
with a family member’s
mouth wrapped around her breast.
My father would have indulged,
others may have been first.
I would have, before
my sister there now, twenty-eight
weeks old, cradled, feeding.

Being Days

As they
Moved along
The path
Paved in
Cobbled stone
Steady pace
Felt like
Wanted it
So close
Not far
Almost there
Smelt near
Thoughts elapsed
Were there
Eyes closed
Tick tock

Overhead Luggage

It has many hands on it, the case in question.
Filled with reminders, documental evidence
of tales gone by and of current proceedings.
Revealing straps on the case that criss-
cross. Examine the interior, crafted,
explore the detail, the sharp finish.
Deep pockets with exquisite lining,
and this was the finest,
smooth all over, solid to the core.

Judge, for yourself, the supreme
quality of workmanship, neatly-ordered,
well-prepared, opening beautifully, the finest,
taking on rugged and compelling onslaughts
the harshest bashings, surviving endless closing.
With pride in it's label and enjoying the journey,
it fights to keep the possessions of it's owner intact
and is never lost, no matter what the cost.

Hire Forces

Trawling the weekend paper,
mid-week too, if her bed-sheets allow.
From bleary-eyes burning - online
scrolling, to sketchy signs on tattered paper,
outside dirty shops jobs hanging,
dangling carrots there, rotting.

Then weaknesses hidden behind woodchip desks,
sometimes strengths peeping out for a look.
She answers their questions,
a matchstick in a box,
looking for a flint. No luck.
She contrives her fate, her face, her persona,
their desks grow taller than her tales.
Her files disappear, into round filing cabinets,
her heart chokes out another squeeze.

She polishes her shoes, irons her shirt
and checks her mail, and again,
she walks the crowded streets,
their matchboxes complete.
They ask her what she does.