Tuesday, December 12, 2006

This is the place I visited near Nagasaki (I've forgotten its name). It was created to be a replica of Holland. Even the hotel we stayed for the night is decorated Dutch-style, and the hotel workers are decked out in Dutch-inspired uniforms. The only thing missing, and to me that's the crucial part, is the people. The buildings, the flora and fauna, the rivers and boats, are all beautiful, but they lack life. The scene isn't complete without people cruising the rivers, having a cuppa at a cafe, or simply strolling the grounds enjoying the sunshine. It reminds me of a newly-built town I previously visited in Malaysia. The buildings were gleaming and modern, the street lamps lighting up the place, but our car was one of the pitiful few on the road. Here's a poem I composed about that experience:

Ghost Town

Sleek figures of empty buildings Rising from the ground Apparitions of the night

Light glimmering in the distance Of bridges lit up Indistinct halos around them

Deserted plaza squares and streets A solitary car brushes past Just a whisper in the wind

Only us wandering Lost souls in the sprawling wilderness Slipping away into the night

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