Faded portraits, and fading still

forget, ya forget

late afternoons on the verandah

of yr gedong besaran in salemba

au bon pain from yr favourite boulangerie alsatienne

in passer baroe

see how the leather

on the backseat of your sado

is peeling

like a thousand sails

forget everything

the proper spelling

in the long letters youve been writing in clipped, proper, eton v. harrow english

to yr boyfriend away from home in den haag

kassian,

think about the future of this broad avenue

perhaps,

75 years after the dissolution of yr volksraad

a couple of pribumis will walk along the crowded corner at its end

and,

looking for an ancient ice cream parlour theyve read so often in history books

find it closed for business

o,

the heat of late kemarau !

the pink paint on its wall

the colour of washed out blood.