Land of Smiles
Bangkok, Thailand
Condos & shopping malls
form the essence
of this endless tourist megacity
while high-rises & hotels
abound on the tropical sweaty
streets where stylishly dressed
people move about the transit
system like electric sheep, herded up
moving walkways & into sky-train cars
as they stare at their phones
in search of products to buy
during their precious free time.
Foreigners (farang) are found
in every nook & cranny here
(building / barbershop / bar)
dating local women in droves
& injecting sought-after funds
into stores / banks / brothels
to keep the cash-money-plata
flowing & food on the table
of remote rice-farming parents
as people everywhere party drunk
& ‘happy’ cause all everybody wants
is a substantial income & stability
at any cost, even selling their
soul to relentless tourist
consumption & sleeping
in a box-like bare-minimum
modern room (with
Wi-Fi, TV & A/C!)
as monks disappear from
this nominally Buddhist environ
& electricity costs soar …
but everybody’s getting rich
(or nobody is) so it’s all good,
with more travelers coming
to eat / drink / fuck in this land
of smiles before leaving
again in a week or two,
but a new batch arrives
just as soon to do the same
under this beatific burning sun.
