Today is Raya

Today is Raya
The young man from Melacca reminded me that
"Maaf zahir batin..."
The accent slightly different
It has been a while since I last spoke Malay
Or is it a bit too far from home?

I waved and said "Selamat Hari Raya!"
to a girl obviously wearing tudong
but she is from Indonesia
(I would not say I was not disappointed)
she and her friend were happy I did that

I released 4 tiny birds into a bush
in front of a neon light covered motel
in Linkou
I picked the spot because it was bushy(of course)
and the water sprinklers were on
(I thought they might need to drink
after puasa)

I paid my rent
and I had a long long chat with Haywen
on the internet

Today is Raya 2006
worth remembering
as it is
in Linkou
Taiwan