valkyrie
Boredom needs a distraction.
pencil sketch by dsnake1
valkyrie
lim chu kang, mid '70's
they said she could floor you with a punch
if you make her just this mad.
so we were expecting her to leap
and somersault over the tables
like some wuxia swordswoman
or slash her way across the coffee shop
an unstoppable medieval amazon.
but she just sits quietly at the counter
looking at us like a wary hawk
we wave for another beer
she saunters over
bottle of cold beer in one hand
bottle opener in another.
she counts out the cash
pops the bottle expertly
we watch her walking back to that counter
her hips too wide for that pair of shorts
have to watch out for her dad though
he is the local triad enforcer
so we just look quietly at this valkyrie
she in her long black hair and tiny t-shirt
measuring her, trying small talk with her
drink our beer eat our carrot cakes
and prawn noodles smoke our cigarettes
sometimes sweating out the night
thick with rumours and gnats
waiting for our night transport
to take us back to the shithole
a couple of clicks away
that is our camp.
03/06/2016
**********
To the tough lady (sorry, i missed your name) who manned the counter at that coffee shop near our base at lim chu kang, thanks for the beer and coffee and conversations, wherever you may be.
"I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”
--John Keats, La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2019
valkyrie
lim chu kang, mid '70's
they said she could floor you with a punch
if you make her just this mad.
so we were expecting her to leap
and somersault over the tables
like some wuxia swordswoman
or slash her way across the coffee shop
an unstoppable medieval amazon.
but she just sits quietly at the counter
looking at us like a wary hawk
we wave for another beer
she saunters over
bottle of cold beer in one hand
bottle opener in another.
she counts out the cash
pops the bottle expertly
we watch her walking back to that counter
her hips too wide for that pair of shorts
have to watch out for her dad though
he is the local triad enforcer
so we just look quietly at this valkyrie
she in her long black hair and tiny t-shirt
measuring her, trying small talk with her
drink our beer eat our carrot cakes
and prawn noodles smoke our cigarettes
sometimes sweating out the night
thick with rumours and gnats
waiting for our night transport
to take us back to the shithole
a couple of clicks away
that is our camp.
03/06/2016
**********
To the tough lady (sorry, i missed your name) who manned the counter at that coffee shop near our base at lim chu kang, thanks for the beer and coffee and conversations, wherever you may be.
"I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—“La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!”
--John Keats, La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2019
Labels: 70's, fantasy, military, old flame, Poetry, Singapore
posted by dsnake1 at 11:50 PM
10 Comments:
Your sketch is amazing. You could have a career as an illustrator! Loved the poem too, especially her looking at you like a wary hawk. I imagine barmaids have to be wary, can you imagine all the comments she must hear?
Lovely!!💖 Reminds me of the novel "The Valkyries," by Paulo Coelho 😊
I enjoyed the way you took this toward awe rather than confrontation. All the mystery remains intact and simmers in the verses.
I love the scene...being brought right into that atmosphere of beer, smoke and observing this valkyrie in tight shorts.
You have a wonderful way of writing a story in a poem.
Sam not sure my comment made it as they have been disappearing lately on some blogs. Your sketch is really good. And your poem painted a portrait, too.i could see her, wary as a hawk!
Sherry,
Thank you! I like to do pen or pencil sketching nowadays, though i am thinking of doing watercolours in the near future. ah, all these ladies who man these shops and sell alcohol are street-smart. :)
Sanaa,
Thank you! a Paulo Coelho novel, no less! I haven't read the book, but maybe after this... :)
Chrissa,
thank you!
this was a recollection of someone a rather long time ago, when things were much less complicated. :)
Vivian,
thank you! bored soldiers have nothing else much to do... :)
Mary,
Thank you! :)
Sherry,
your comment made it to my blog, except that i have comment moderation turned on (those pesky spam!). So you may see it only a bit much later.
but yes, i do experience my comments disappearing sometimes (in the past) but it is so much better now. :)
This one gave chills, especially after reading your note. I love reading (and seeing, in this case) the imprints people leave in our memories, the words we birth out of the remembrances. The tone brings to mind exhaustion and sweat, uniforms and haunted looks, and hearts looking for a break (and finding some).
Magaly,
thank you!
"exhaustion and sweat, uniforms and haunted looks, and hearts looking for a break" : how you nailed it! :)
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