Mosquito Net Nightmares Somewhere in Thailand

Dear Passenger,

You told me that as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand I wouldn't have time to do the things that I liked. You told me that I certainly wouldn't have time to write. So. Here's something that I wrote (obviously not about you though):

I dreamed of you last night,

traipsed directionless, lost

in the ninety-degree winter

of a banana leaf jungle. Sweat drowned

my brow as our torrid star demanded

attention, sapped strength from pores

under my skin.

I carried a small bag of chili peppers, freshly foraged

from nearby fields, crimson and fiery

yet still not furious as the heat that boiled

the air around me.

I dreamed you found me.

Through a vacant lane in the palm forest

I descried your silhouette.

An unknowable distance separated us, but I felt you

like a faraway spring taunting me with

promised relief from this unflinching scorch.

Through the rippling heat I pictured

the sprinkled freckles that dot your cheeks, remembered the way your smile crinkles

the corners of your viridian eyes.

From miles away I dreamed your whisper.

come back

Your coo, soft and sweet on the nape

of my neck; cool breath momentarily liberating me

from the unforgiving flame in the sky.

come back to me you said.

So I leapt into the sun.

Sincerely,

Ian Tramm

PCV 131