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decreaseThe Dowson poem on which the following poem is based must have one of the clumsiest titles in the English canon: ‘Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae’ - probably the result of studying too much Latin at school! However, it is a very moving poem, and I have kept several lines of the original unchanged, particularly in stanza 3, which sums up, better than anything I could write, what it feels like to have a Thai girl spend the night with you.
Last night, ah, yesternight, between my lips and Dang’s
There fell your shadow, Namtai! and your breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the Changs.
Yea, I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Even as I took her to my bed:
I have been faithful to you, Namtai! in my fashion.
I met her in a Bangkok gogo bar last night,
Bought her a Lady Drink and then paid the barfine.
Truly, without her clothes, she was a most bewitching sight.
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion;
Yea, even though I had to make her mine,
I have been faithful to you, Namtai! in my fashion.
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;
But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:
I have been faithful to you, Namtai! in my fashion.
I’ve been with many bargirls since we met, Namtai!
And freelancers, and massage-parlour girls as well.
But - truly - I am no chao-chua - no butterfly!
No, for I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
I love you only, more than words can tell:
I have been faithful to you, Namtai! in my fashion.
For love is so much more than sex and worldly pleasure;
More than a passionate embrace of limbs and lips;
It is a spiritual and eternal treasure.
That’s why I’m desolate and sick of an old passion
That casts my new teerak into eclipse:
I have been faithful to you, Namtai! in my fashion.
I cry for wilder bargirls and for stronger beer,
But when, at last, they and the hangovers, are gone,
Then falls your shadow, Namtai! in my heart just here;
And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, hungry for the lips of my loved one:
I have been faithful to you, Namtai! in my fashion.
© Bangkok Byron, 2007. All rights reserved by the author.
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December 8, 2006, 18:08
The original is a favourite of mine too Rob, and your parody is very entertaining. The prototype of Namtai (if she really exists?) must have been someone very special to inspire you to produce such beautifu lines -which obviously come from the heart.