Oh! Send Me a Postcard

Beach, Jacob Roosa

 

 

 

i.

tightly spun egyptian cotton,

imported of course,

wraps up your wet body

like it did for pharaohs.

 

you picture kings who lounged

about in silken kimonos

watching the bronzed laymen

selling their city’s idiosyncratic spices

in a marketplace, so bazaar.

 

you hear only the slipperiness

of their foreign, exotic languages.

so oriental, like grass flutes

whispering into your ear. But wait!

don’t forget to buy a lovely souvenir.

ii.

south of cobbled temple street,

steps away from the night market

old popo sells her kiwi lychee

passion dragon jack fruit juices

from a makeshift bamboo stand.

 

she gestures me over to buy a cup.

old popo’s sharpie-inscribed chinese scrawled

onto cardboard is a makeshift menu

That proudly advertises her wares.

 

i can’t read chinese, surprise me.

and she winks. 1990’s commercial juicer

still works because of popo’s white haired wisdom.

her ingenuity: a toothpick keeps the juicer

spinning pears into pear juice. drink…

or take a picture. it will last longer.

 

 

 

About the Author

Kent Tran · University of California

Kent Tran is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in Sociology and English with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in French. He is a Bay Area native who plans to pursue a writing career in New York City after graduation. “Oh! Send Me a Postcard” first appeared in Westwind. 

About the Artist

Jacob Roosa · Oberlin College

Jacob Roosa is a 4th year Art History major at Oberlin College, focusing on Medieval art and architecture. His work is mostly in collage, book arts, woodworking, and architectural design. “Beach” first appeared in Plum Creek Review.

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