Modern Romance

Baby I’m afraid, of a lot of things but
I ain’t scared of lovin’ you
Baby I know you’re afraid of a lot of things but
Don’t be scared of love, ’cause

People will say all kinds of things
that don’t mean a damn to me, ’cause
All I see, is what’s in front of me, that’s you

Well I’ve been dragged all over the place
I’ve taken hits time just don’t erase
And baby I can see that you’ve been fucked with too
That don’t mean your lovin days are through, ’cause

People will say, all kinds of things
that don’t mean a damn to me, ’cause
all I see, is what’s in front of me, that’s you
Well I maybe just a fool, but I know you’re just as cool
And cool kids, they belong together.

~ lyric excerpt from “Modern Romance” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Histories

Military histories, once vicious, now sanguine. Once bloody, now clean. Monuments raised in memorial, weapons mounted as artefacts. We like to think that we remember to not repeat the mistakes of our forebears. We’d like to be smarter than that.

Lakeside

Half submerged in dark green water, the bloated whiteness of a fish belly-up lies prone against a swath of brown canvas. Nearby, a lakeside restaurant filled with people chat and eat, overlooking the calm waters, overlooking the decay that delivers their meals.

I read that Agent Orange still seeps into the wet earth of Vietnam.

Some memories fade fast and become distant stories long before their time.

Vietnam | November 2010

Too much gin, not enough tonic

December in Saigon. 2:something am. Colonial relics and disco lights. Streaking through the streets on the back of Kevin’s bike. I hang on tight. Miss Maitland and a sparkly little number. Too much gin, not enough tonic.