Thailand — Red Lights
They used to pick rice and now they pick ice
To keep up with the demands of the ferrangs life
Dance all night to make them feel alright
Then smoke to give more pleasure till the morning light
On their break from reality into a guilt free demise
Rationalising it, saying it’s all their own choice
But without a demand where’s the service?
Who’s really the voice
These women return home after two years being ravaged
Consumed by consumerism corrupting their simple habbits
Or trafficked into avenues they never dreamed of going through
In their childhood fantasies of what they’d grow up to do
Respect for all beings, compassion, ahimsa
Just like the Buddhist teachings that underpin their upbringing
Providing for their families, the best option in sight
Why does the world work like this, what’s really right?
A cycle too embedded to change when people still arrive
The seedy underbelly of paradise beneath the clear sky

Photo: Ladyboy show, Koh Samui, Thailand
Poem written in Koh Samui, June 2017
