The Night Jasmine Read online



  THE NIGHT JASMINE

  Stanski

  Copyright©2013 Stanski

  Crawling Distance

  In Decline

  Cover photo © Stanski

  THE NIGHT JASMINE

  CONTENTS

  1.Province

  2. Pra Yai

  3. Nok Noi Si Khieo (Small Green Bird)

  4.North/South Divide

  5. Rice

  6. The Nongkhai Naga

  7. Dreaming Of Springtime

  8. All On A Summer’s Day

  9.Same Same

  10.Isan Funeral

  11.Lao Soup

  12.Water Of Life

  13. Unsavoury Savoury

  14. Tropical Winter

  15. All According To Plan

  16.Fulfilment

  17.Judgement Day

  18.Dec 25, 2009

  19.Wet And Dry Rain

  20.Papaya Pok-Pok

  21.Ching-Ching

  22.No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

  23.Free Meal

  24.Salon Isan

  25.Planet Isan

  26.Beun Bang Fai

  27.Isan Heartland

  28.Casting The Spell

  29.Isan Market Day

  30.The Night Jasmine

  About The Author

  1. Province

  Khon Kaen, Udon Thani,

  Nongkai, Nongbualamphu.

  Ubon Ratchatani,

  Surin, Korat, Si Chompu.

  Maha Sarakam, Non Sang,

  Sakhon Nakon, Roi-et.

  Mukdahan, Chaiyaphum, Buri Ram,

  Loei, Kalasin, Si Saket.

  Wherever you stay in Isan

  You’ll probably feel the pang

  For sticky rice – ‘khao nieow’; ‘lao khao’

  - Rice liquor - and Beer Chang

  I could tell you all about Isan

  But if you go alone

  You’ll feel blessed by the warmth of welcome

  And gratitude you’re shown

  2. Pra Yai

  Gazing forth, across the earth, from high

  Stands a monument to Buddhist Faith; Pra Yai

  To his rear, the people of Khon Kaen

  Over to his left, it’s Chaiyaphum and then

  Udon Thani kneels at his right hand

  In reverence; voicing the respect of Thailand

  Before him, Loei and Nongbualamphu

  Receive the careful attention of his view

  Pra Yai symbolises Lord Buddha

  In his presence, his loyal pilgrims shudder

  The hopes and fears of all the nation

  Are offered in praise and meditation

  Gratitude for the harvest; the rain

  For the relief of suffering and of pain

  Food for the hungry, strength to the weak

  A fitting focal point for the blessed meek

  Supports the infirm, tends to the old

  The pious poor, the emotionally cold

 

  The waters below, gently lapping

  Reflect the subtle sound of one hand clapping

  Prepared to unleash their potential

  Energy; electricity; essential

  Lighting our progress through the ferment

  Physical guide; practical enlightenment

  No tree to shade his contemplation

  Deflect his wisdom, distract concentration

  His sacrament of inner vision

  Available via the conscious decision

  To follow the example of his life

  Grants untold pleasures, and the absence of strife

  3. Nok Noi Si Khieo (Small Green Bird)

  In Thailand, as in places round the world

  Education can be passed by word of mouth

  Lessons are not learned while just at school

  The same is true in North as well as South

  One evening, as we sat to eat a meal

  A bright young girl, the daughter of a guest

  Noticed a bird that flew into the house

  And put her old grandmother to the test

  “Khun Yai, nok noi si khieo, nee, shue arai?”

  What do we call this miniature green bird?

  ‘Yai’ – grandmother, looked at the child and spoke

  She asked the girl, as though she hadn’t heard

 

  “Arai na look?” What’s that you want to know?

  The girl looked her grandmother in the eye

  “I want to know the name of this green bird”

  “I know that, girl, but let me ask you why”

  “If I can tell my teacher, she’ll be proud.

  She’ll put me at the top place in her class.”

  “Dek ying, thammai?” The old girl had to know

  Young girl, why? Gran thought she could let it pass

  Left arm across her chest, right hand to chin

  Grandmother thought about it for a while

  Then slapping both hands down against her knees

  She looked up with a knowing nod and smile

  “Dek ying, nok noi nee, shue yang nee - dieo”

  Granddaughter, this small bird is called – hang on

  She braced herself and passed on what she knew

  “Nok noi, si khieo” - Small green bird – Wisdom’s a con!!

  4. North/South Divide

  “If you stay long time in Thailand,

  You must to learn speak Thai

  If you want happy ending

  No promplem; just sabai, sabai.

  Thai lady speak good English

  When learn so high, at school.

  She very like your rangwedge

  And have jai yen – that’s ‘cool’.

  She have good teacher Angkrit,

  Up-country, in Isan.

  Not only khao nieow – ‘sticky rice’,

  Also homework – that’s karn barn.”

 

  “I understand you, clearly,

  But here’s what’s wrong with you.

  You say things back-to-front, e.g.

  For ‘your friend’, you say, ‘my friend you’.

  Now, here’s what I learnt, just this week,

  But something is amiss

  You never explained that Isan and Thai

  Are different. Look at this!

  I’ll say the Isan version first,

  And then translate, to Thai.

  You’ll see just what my problem is,

  But can you explain why?

  Khop khun lai derr, means khop kuhn krap,

  Bo penyang dor, means mai pen rai.

  Koi mark chao, that means pom rak khun

  Chao si pai sai, is kuhn ja pai nai?

  Thank-you very much, never mind,

  I love you, where are you going?

  Mai mi pen har; no problem,

  My Thai has started flowing!”

  5.Rice

  Harvest time in Isan

  Means labour; sweat and pain

  Gathering food for another year

  That Holy, precious grain

  Rice! Glutinous and sticky

  Is what it’s all about

  We’re off, down to the farm now

  It’s time to check it out

  The heat is so oppressive

  One hundred in the shade

  A flash of light that dazzles you

  Is just the sickle blade

  But it’s money in your pocket

  And worth it, in a way,

  For ten hours work, not riches,

  Two hundred Baht a day

  That’s just three Pounds, in English.

  Would you get out of bed

  For even that, an hour

  Or stay asleep instead?

  I don’t thin
k so, but here

  It’s an honest daily rate

  Food and drink included

  You go home feeling great!

  And when it’s all been gathered

  It’s time to sort it out

  The rice from chaff; and bag it

  Two hundred sacks, about

  That’s sixteen sacks a month, though

  Much more than we can eat

  We’ll sell a hundred sacks, or more

  This year we’ll have a treat

  And when we get the rice home

  We can use it, straight away

  Fresh grown rice for breakfast

  Lunch, tea, dinner, every day!

  Boiled, steamed, or sticky

  Cook it how you wish

  But in Isan, we’re not fussy

  So it’s STICKY every dish!

  6. The Nongkhai Naga

  The seven-headed serpent of the Mekong

  Breathes fireballs known as; ‘bang fai paya nak’.

  For centuries, this legendary ‘Naga’

  Has haunted Isan with its ‘S’ shaped track

  Late autumn, full moon; the end of Buddhist Lent

  Location: the heart of Nong Khai province

  The sixteenth century temple, Wat Paa Luang

  Provides the setting for our vigilance

  A ball of pink light reflects on the river

  Followed by more, with similar features

  Without a sound, they hurtle ever-skywards

  Up to a height of hundreds of metres

  The ‘Nong Khai Naga’, like the ‘Loch Ness Monster’

  Inhabits the depths, rarely seen or heard

  An existence which is disputed by some

  But photographs ‘prove’ the witnesses’ word

  Like all good myths, this one’s fiercely contested

  Legend claims a monster breathing fire

  “It’s folk-lore, and however deeply rooted”,

  Science counters, “Legend is a liar”

  “Merely Mekong Methane,” agree professors

  “Ignited by the natural forces

  Of pressure, heat, gravity, oxygen, and

  Proximity to Sun’s UV sources.”

  Believers hit back with their words of caution

  To those who would put nature to the test

  “Don’t ever doubt the power of the Naga

  Don’t make him angry…if you know what’s best.”

  7.Dreaming Of Springtime

  Overnight minimum of ninety Fahrenheit

  Humidity level racing off the scale to

  Saturation point, provoking thirst it can’t quench

  Gasping for life’s breath, like a fish out of water

  Sucking fiercely; syrup-sticky scents of morning,

  Huge moisture-laden mouthfuls of hydrated air

  Sun’s rapid rise, announces, ‘morning is cancelled’

  Insipid cherry-pink, transforms to tangerine,

  Lemon-yellow, molten-metal-white, in seconds

  Water seems so foreign, yet so familiar

  Shower-outs, a testament to dried river-beds

  Power-outs, resulting from the lack of hydro

  Yet you could drown in your sleep from the sweat of air

  Just for a moment, a dream; nostalgic nonsense

  Give me a misty-mountain, cool English morning

  Overlooking valleys, steeped in shrouds of silence

  Dew-dappled daybreak, evaporating slowly

  Cock-crow to consciousness; time to re-live reverie

  Landscape gives way to the industrial townscape

  That skyscrapes the starscape; invites a ‘great escape’

  Reality bites, with the sound of alarm bells

  Back to ‘beat thy neighbour’ and vanity culture

  Take excesses of climate, lock them in a box

  Throw away the key. Live forever, in Springtime

  When blissful bird-song beckons each day, in greeting

  Leave unpredictability to weathermen

  8. All On A Summer’s Day

  Glancing upwards, to the treetops

  From time to time, swifts can be seen

  Darting about the foliage

  Disappearing into the green

  In the cool of early morning

  Congregations of dragonflies

  Commence proceedings for the day

  Then introduce the butterflies

  Brightly coloured ballerinas

  Shimmering to an unheard tune

  Building up to a crescendo

  In the heat of late afternoon

  Sunset heralds the finale

  Morning’s dragonflies reappear

  Flying strictly in formation

  Performing without flaw or fear

  Flowing and ebbing on breezes

  Thermals only they can detect

  They glide along the golden glow

  Mesmerising, peerless, perfect

  Soaring skywards, surfing sweet scents

  Summer’s subtle, silent surprise

  Show’s not over, still the encore

  As bats replace the dragonflies

  Unknowingly, the sightless bats

  Mimic the actions of the swifts

  The butterflies, the dragonflies

  And entertain us with their gifts

  A short-lived treat as clouds, in crowds

  Gather to make a mockery

  Of summer’s promise, never spoken

  Never guaranteed…yet broken

  9. Same Same

  Village Isan; Amazing Thailand

  Here’s a thing that’s truly exotic

  Don’t call them ‘Siamese’ twins; they’re Thai

  Identical; Monozygotic

  Tong, on the left (or is it the right?)

  Won the ‘Long’ look-alike contest

  Long, on the right (or is it the left?)

  Won the ‘Tong’ look-alike contest

  It’s pure poetry watching them play

  Synchronized structure to their games

  Interchangeable identities

  And they’ve even got those rhyming names

  The bond of brotherhood that exists

  Between twins, is like no other

  I should know – I’m one of a pair

  With my Dizygotic twin brother

  10. Isan Funeral

  Mother’s mother

  Lies in state;

  Serene.

  Monks from the Wat

  Line the walls;

  In prayer,

  Chanting mantras

  To the

  Great Unseen

  Male descendants

  Sacrifice

  Their hair,

  Don saffron robes

  Marking their

  Respect,

  Lead the mourners

  To the

  Holy Field

  Solemn faces

  Silently

  Reflect.

  Young coconuts

  Spill their

  Cleansing yield

  On head and face

  Of mother’s

  Mother

  Each one in turn

  Takes part in

  The Rite;

  Grandson, daughter

  Sister and

  Brother.

  Grievers gaze as

  Pyre is set

  Alight

  Five days and nights

  Set aside

  To mourn

  The passing of

  Our loved one;

  Loved still.

  Her memory

  Lives on in

  Hearts torn

  By tragedy

  Of death’s

  Bitter pill

  11.Lao Soup

  Morlam is a celebration

  Of cultural preservation

  A musical presentation

  Of Isan lifestyle themes

  Passed down as an education

  Through every generation


  The history of the nation

  The hopes, the fears, the dreams

  Songs release us from our strife

  Basic aspects of our life

  Songs release us from our strife

  Face each day with a smile

  Hardship, poverty and toil

  Hardship, poverty and toil

  Reap the harvest of the soil

  Face each day with a smile

  Arom dee – a cheerful mood

  Adjustment of our attitude

  ‘Eat to live; don’t live for food’

  Simple fare sustains us

  Soup Laos, normai, plar, larb moo

  Het fang, somtam, prik khee noo

  Kin khap khao-nieow, plar lar, ping noo

  Simple fare sustains us

  Serb lai derr; aroi mark mark

  Serb lai derr; aroi mark mark

  Ta wow Laos dai, ko arb park

  Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’

  Ta wow Laos dai, ko arb park

  Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’

  Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’

  Te bor wow ‘Bor sanuk’

  12. Water Of Life

  Evening falls on treetops

  Thunder in the air

  Grasses rustle in the breeze

  Shadows all around

  Silence as the wind drops

  Animals prepare

  Hostile clouds gather to tease

  Moisture deprived ground

  Spirits rise as raindrops

  Fall on land laid bare

  The season’s first rain will please

  Satisfy, astound

  Relentless, torrential

  Harder, stronger, faster

  Breathing a new lease of life

  On parched, barren land

  Unleashing potential

  Sparing disaster

  Rewards for labour and strife

  Given by God’s hand

  Praise, respect; essential

  Rain is the master

  Its servants; husband and wife

  United they stand

  13. Unsavoury Savoury

  “So you want to try PLAR LAR?

  Come out with me, in my boat;

  we’ll have some fun, catching fish,

  now the rain has stopped falling.

  Here’s a bottle of LAO KHAO…

  it’ll put hairs on your chest;

  take your mind off the journey.”