as well as the general approach of summer
and today's photo of C.B. sellers at the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok
here is my "Ode to C.B., my summer love":
As sun slides into humid dusk,
when bats take wing from idle trees,
my throat choked by Mongolian dust
and slight is hope of cool sea breeze,
there grows within a hankering
for my summer soulmate, Chwa Bing (挫冰).
White hair as soft as mi-tai-mu (米苔目),
tree ears, almond eyes (and peanut zits),
red ripe jujubes, such kissable lips,
sometimes, I feel like eating you.
Modest or bejeweled; love has two alchemists:
black sugar veil, thick cream bandana,
fruit d’amour broach, taro amethysts,
barley pearls, necklace of banana;
and multicolored QQ candy bling—
nothing’s too fine, for my precious Bao Bing (刨冰).
Some jellies: hsien-tsao (仙草) and ai-yu (愛玉),
beans: red, green and honey,
chewy things: o-yee (芋圓) and hwun-yee (粉圓),
oh mysterious ineffable you.
Your complexion changes by the season,
as with fruit, most colorful,
peach, grape, mango, persimmon,
coconut, strawberry and pineapple,
on top, a snub nosed caramel pudding,
oh, how I love you, cute Bing Bing.
Peaches stop coughs, grapes strengthen tendons,
while mangoes quench my thirst,
all of which makes you the perfect first
or last dish for a meal to end on.
Grapefruit detox the alcoholic,
guavas plug my diarrhea,
lotus seeds are a blood-and-chi tonic,
consumed on ice, a great panacea;
it seems, therefore, our summer fling
is both a healthy and zestful thing.
The more beans one eats, the more one pees,
papayas aid digestion,
plums kill worms of the intestine,
but eat too fast and you’ll get brain freeze.
As summer suns give autumn moons,
the grass is wet, from trees fall leaves,
it’s not just twilight’s mood that cools,
of glacial swims, no one conceives:
and sad to say, dear sweet Chwa Bing
you’re somewhat less to my liking.
When rains fall heavier, winds blow more’n’more,
bronchitic germs invade my chest,
my new-found interest, I must confess,
is for your spicy cousin, Huo Guo (火鍋).
when bats take wing from idle trees,
my throat choked by Mongolian dust
and slight is hope of cool sea breeze,
there grows within a hankering
for my summer soulmate, Chwa Bing (挫冰).
White hair as soft as mi-tai-mu (米苔目),
tree ears, almond eyes (and peanut zits),
red ripe jujubes, such kissable lips,
sometimes, I feel like eating you.
Modest or bejeweled; love has two alchemists:
black sugar veil, thick cream bandana,
fruit d’amour broach, taro amethysts,
barley pearls, necklace of banana;
and multicolored QQ candy bling—
nothing’s too fine, for my precious Bao Bing (刨冰).
Some jellies: hsien-tsao (仙草) and ai-yu (愛玉),
beans: red, green and honey,
chewy things: o-yee (芋圓) and hwun-yee (粉圓),
oh mysterious ineffable you.
Your complexion changes by the season,
as with fruit, most colorful,
peach, grape, mango, persimmon,
coconut, strawberry and pineapple,
on top, a snub nosed caramel pudding,
oh, how I love you, cute Bing Bing.
Peaches stop coughs, grapes strengthen tendons,
while mangoes quench my thirst,
all of which makes you the perfect first
or last dish for a meal to end on.
Grapefruit detox the alcoholic,
guavas plug my diarrhea,
lotus seeds are a blood-and-chi tonic,
consumed on ice, a great panacea;
it seems, therefore, our summer fling
is both a healthy and zestful thing.
The more beans one eats, the more one pees,
papayas aid digestion,
plums kill worms of the intestine,
but eat too fast and you’ll get brain freeze.
As summer suns give autumn moons,
the grass is wet, from trees fall leaves,
it’s not just twilight’s mood that cools,
of glacial swims, no one conceives:
and sad to say, dear sweet Chwa Bing
you’re somewhat less to my liking.
When rains fall heavier, winds blow more’n’more,
bronchitic germs invade my chest,
my new-found interest, I must confess,
is for your spicy cousin, Huo Guo (火鍋).
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