The seven o'clock bird
bellows good morning
to a still sleeping
Sunday Bangkok
humid as a sauna,
to a six-storey Buddha
whose gold lights up
the rising sun,
to the woman
on the rooftop garden,
whose love-words encourage
the plants to grow,
to two old tourists,
intent on riding elephants,
too exhausted
to seek out bargains,
to notice the dirt of this city,
sprawling into infinity
Valentine's Day in Australia
Dawn
clouds
crimson
turn to gold
Between gold
and day
the moon removes itself
from a bluing sky
A cockatoo yawns
a kangaroo
on the lawn
looks up
towards the window's
whispers,
bounds away
at the camera's click
A Valentine's gift
from Australia
Eden in
New Zealand
In New Zealand
another sun rises
in a red sky
to begin the world's day
A bird-filled, snakeless,
Garden of Eden,
a kiwi yawns,
a bored Eve munches an apple,
complains about the cost of lemons,
the state of the roads
I am tempted to stay,
to taste this delicious boredom
a bit more,
but board the plane,
return to my snake-filled home
