cheap (?) ego thrill

Seriously, i have no idea what Hsien Min is talking about but Whatever! I'm flattered that i'm considered to be included in QLRS, especially when the "two sincere souls" line is actually quite cringe-inducing. Hee.


Dear Kai Le,
Thank you for your interest in QLRS and for your submissions. I'm just about to accept 'unresolved between a thai lad and I', but I'd like to ask if you could consider changing "leisurely" in the 7th line, which, though not technically wrong, strikes me as a very odd choice of word and quite disruptive to the thought flow at that point, in contrast to the mood you attempt to evoke. If you can think of a better way round this "unresolved" nitpick, could you please let me know, and also include a brief 1-2 sentence bio?

With best wishes,
Hsien Min
Editor, QLRS

----- Original Message -----
From: "heng kaile"
Sent: Sunday, July 04, 2004 6:02 AM
Subject: poetry submissions

Full Name: Heng Kai Le

unresolved between a thai lad and I

after I declined his offer
of whisky for the umpteen time,
two sincere souls fell into oblivion,
not quite knowing how to connect

we seemed to gaze at
the smoke of his cigarette
lesiurely trailing off
into the pitch-dark night

does his culture believe
in companionable silence?

the fireflies shone extra hard,
as if challenging me
to decipher their answer