Wandering through light and shadow 
among irregular multi-colored tarps,
I’m in Bangkok’s weekend market 
wondering at saw-horse vendor tables

piled with ginger root, exotic fruit, vegetables.  
I’ve been in country only long enough 
to start the new job.  Burlap bags overflow
cloves, allspice, and black pepper.  

Two women wearing rice field hats 
watch me from behind garlic and onion 
pyramids piled almost waist-high 
on swatch cloths spread on the ground.  

Their dialect is not what I trained in, so 
others translate my answer about the sarong 
I’ve bought.  Smiles and nods.  
All understand.  Nearby, 

on a table: green chiles in two sizes.  
Little finger peppers piled on saucers
next to a string-suspended balance scale.  
Large ones group in threes.  Ahead, 

steam drift along a vent of sunlight touching
a wok nested on a charcoal brazier.  
The gray-haired woman fans the coals 
to make it bubble, beckons 

and spoons a sample of red sauce, 
a crescent-shape of meat, a kaffir leaf 
onto an enamel plate of rice.  
Her smile crinkles as she extends the dish, 

and, like any grandmother, nods 
to try it.  People lean in 
to see what this farang 
thinks of Thai food.  

And as I reach for it, I think of you, 
halfway around the world, 
you with your now free weekends.  
I want us to share this.
                        

On the edge of the veranda 
in the shadows of the overhang, 
at an angle to the steps, she stands 
 
palm out in the downpour.  
Staring.  Water clings 
to her fingertips, is followed 
 
by more.  She tilts her hand, 
watches the water running out.  
Cold on her skin.  
 
Monsoon season again.  
 
Other arm, straight down, 
grips something against her side.  
She looks up to the face of the jungle, 
 
its steeping heat surrounding their clearing.  
He no longer tells her to ignore its reek.  
The only road is east to west.  Ends here.  
 
To the west, his plantation rubber trees 
drip from slashes in their bark.  East,
over the mountains, the settlement is now unreachable.  
 
Teeth take her bottom lip.  She turns 
to the open door, lifts both hands 
to her mouth.