Part II · The South Korea / U.S. Army Era (1997–1999)
A vast variety of vibrancy and vigor,
The club scene is always getting better, bigger.
A myriad lights of gaudy pastels,
Fluorescent signs and vacant motels.
Open doors to dance floors grooving to the sound.
The lost and lonely drink with those too tightly wound.
Most drink for the buzz, not the flavor,
And watch the girls flow to the men they favor.
Some come as they are, others prepare
Some come to dance while others just stare.
All in all, they come to escape
In whatever manner, form, and/or shape.
Alleyways lead to forbidden pleasures.
The wise implement protective measures.
Around each corner you can expect a fight.
People watch their backs both day and at night.
Dark-eyed Asians parlay for their pay;
Fork up the cash, and maybe they’ll stay.
$2 a beer, $3 a shot, $10 a drink—
Vomit and smoke only add to the stink.
It’s a sprawl of both the decadent and new
Souped together in one psychedelic stew.
Behind all the glamour and alcohol-induced haze,
It’s easy to get lost in this subprimal maze.
Composed 1998 · part of the Poems collection · authorship documented on the Provenance page.