Here is a poem I wrote dedicated to the ministry I am partnering with in Phuket, Thailand. We spend time on the toughest street in the red light district ministering to the women they call 'bar girls.'
I am sure she sees herself in many ways
many colors, many moods
dependent on the day – the money – the man
There are few words needed here
only movement – hips, thighs, legs
[ C O N S U M P T I O N ]
I have never seen people so much a commodity
but everything can be bought, sold, stolen, or given away
the land of the free
the land of the slave
I am empty at the end of myself
here on Bangla Road
[ C O N N E C T I O N ]
High heels and short skirts
passion for a price
I have no assumptions about her
only a prayer and a hope that she feels it
I ask her her name
she has an identity – a brilliant mind, an infallible spirit
shared joy, like a quiet moment
in the midst of a raging sea of blaring music and bar girls
[ C E L E B R A T I O N ]
Every conversation is a perpetual pin-prick
striking the ocean of her life
and making a few ripples
maybe the ripples will move and create a wave
maybe, just maybe SHE will see herself, for the first time
like a feather –
floating quietly, carelessly, peacefully
away from all this madness.
