In a Land of Heat and Spice

In a land of
Spices
I paid a visit
One summer

I was not
Prepared
For the heat
And culture

My face
Was a detriment
At first
I didn't understand
I was mistaken
For someone
From a neighboring
Land

Eyes, eyes, eyes
Stared at me
Everywhere I went
Words I did not know
Were spoken to me

Monsoon rain
Took me by surprise
I was told it came early
This season
While I ran for cover
The shower ceased
Then blue skies

My clothes
My shoes
Were all wrong
You can not walk
On gravel filled streets
In four inch heels
For long

And absolutely
No make-up
In that humidity
It melts
Right off your face
I witnessed it myself
In incredulity

Shopping in the
Bazaar
Was a whole new experience
Color and all that glitters
Is everywhere
And the vendors
They expect for you
To argue
Over the price of a shoe

They have temples galore
Beautiful and historic
Some gold trimmed
And classy
And some bold
And brassy

But one stands out
In my memory
For I made a woman cry

In a temple of marble and gold
She was raising her head
From the floor
As the cross breeze
Blew my skirt
Above my knees
While I was walking by

Taking pictures as a tourist would
Right in front of her eyes

She wailed in despair
As I struggled
With my clothing
I decided to
Make my escape
And fast
Before I get into
An even bigger scrape

I find it amusing
Now
But back then
I was full of misgivings

There is more to my
Adventure
In the land of heat
And spice
But I can not
Tell it all in
One slice.


*Allene Angelica*
=^_^=
Sent from my iPad