I know what I'm going to do
About two and a half years from now
I'm going to order a case of Soju

Maybe two cases
One Jinro and one Lotte
Just to switch things up

Tastes similar to Purell
Strong stuff, burns your nose
Two bottles will knock you out

Same stuff my mom drank
When she locked my brother
In the ******* bathroom

Same stuff my aunts drank
When they kicked me as
I hid under a blanket

Same stuff I sneaked shots of
A few years ago, when my mom
Was depressed and decided to drink again

Sa-rang had always loved Seoul. Her dreams with crowds, around the Han River day and night. It was a place where she felt delighted and safe.
She was a popular, courageous, soju drinker with charming dark eyes and beautiful pink lips. Her friends saw her as a lovely, quiet hero. Once, she even gave a cup of milk to a lost kitten. That's the sort of woman she was.
Sa-rang walked over to the window and reflected on the colorful lights of her surroundings. The moon shined like a spotlight searching for someone.
Then she saw something in the distance. Or rather someone. It was the figure of Ron. He was a daring king from a far off land with blond hair and vast shoulders looking at the water.
Sa-rang gulped. She was not prepared for Ron.
As Sa-rang stepped outside, and Ron came closer, she could see the substantial glint in his blue eyes.
Ron gazed with the affection of 10,000 kittens. He said, in quiet tones, "I love you, and I want love."
Sa-rang looked back, even more surprised and still looking at the enchanted book. "Ron, please stay until the day I die," she replied.
They looked at each other with pleasant smiles. Feelings of love, like two teens, dancing at a very friendly K-POP Concert, which had piano music playing in the background and two admirable young women dancing to the beat.
Sa-rang regarded Ron's blond hair and vast shoulders. "I feel the same way!" revealed Sa-rang with a delighted grin.
Ron looked nervous, his emotions blushing like a red rose he wished he had.
Then Ron came inside for a nice drink of soju.

(C) 2014 Ronald J Chapman All Rights Reserved.

I would have loved to teach you
Chinese chess
And Muay Thai
Or even Brazilian Jiujitsu
Staining the mats
With sweat and stolen caresses
A serious session
That just might transition
From full guard
To full-on French kissing.

We could have watched Oldboy again
Together this time,
Or Glengarry Glen Ross,
My favorite movie.
And you could have shown me
A film major's favorite movies.

We could have tried the tacos
In Chupacabra,
The salmon sashimi in Sugi
(Their fresh sea urchin is the bomb, by the way).
I could even have cooked for you.
My vichyssoise isn't bad.
And you do love potatoes more than your own family.

Kayaking in the south,
Roadtripping all the way north,
Visited the stone houses and the honest folk
Of the northernmost islands.

Held contests
To see who could drink who under the table.
Your weakness is beer,
Mine is soju.
Could have seen who could hold whiskey better. 

I was dead serious too
When I said I was serious
About taking you
To the West Indies and North Africa
For that pilgrimage of yours.

I was prepared to hear what you had to say
About the things you see
The spirits calling to you
The dead dancing like wisps at dusk
Demons chasing you;
Skeptic or not,
I never would have minded you waking me up at 4 AM
To tell me about your latest vision.

Run cigarette companies out of business
Introduced you to my friends and my family
Listened to you sing and
Allowed awe to seize me again and again
Written a hundred poems in praise
And read your requital ones.

Kissed under the stars,
Talked in the dark
On the sand
Until 3 AM,
Exchanging yawns and hugs,
Bumming smokes off of each other
And greeting the sunrise
With a bottle of local moonshine
Bought from the fisherfolk.

Taken you shooting
9mm, .45, even 12 gauge.
Entwine my arms around you
Whisper in your ear
Inhale the cordite in the air and the smell of your skin
Teaching you shot placement
That you're pulling the trigger wrong
And hold your breath a bit and don't flinch.

Played Skyrim and CoD all night long
Yelled ******* at each other
While kicking *** on Tekken
And swapping spit in between rounds.

Made friends with your beagle
And discussed a life together
A dog, a cat, maybe no kids.
Just one, if ever.
Argued over names for the kid.

We had a real connection, too,
But, oh well,
How was I supposed to know
That you were just looking for cheap thrills
For transient pleasure
That the 'connection' was probably just one-way?
Maybe I'm just stupid.

I'll just have to find someone else
To do these things with.
Someone better, smarter, funnier,
But none of your legion of issues
The truckloads of your problems.

Have a nice day.

This **** could be a lot easier
if I wasn't so dusty
or if my aspiration hasn't been disposed
or exposed. 'Thought you'd like to know.
I'm failing math again."
And my game is still obviously whack,
Anyway I got you to come over.
So, with a pretty girl now and drinking kombucha,
all these Facebook friends
I didn't think I'd have to see again.
Beckon me with a tight fist.
Refresh the laptop and let the afterglow echo
back and drift,
over a nose and fascinating lips.
"You know the bars here don't close till very late."
Everything I love will probably crumble
into a glass of soju. Vices
and the soul undressed
and the fish market's funk clings and holds tightly
onto another's thin grey hoodie.
"What do you do?"
Hobbies among other things include googling
or maybe just oogling at an Incheon passerby.
"Seoul tonight is almost as bright as you."

it was
all too easy,
forgetting your name,
tasting the starlight tucked
behind someone else's
wisdom teeth,
our soju-laced smiles
crashing at 90mph
and the memory of you
caught  
in the headlights and wreckage,
our 2am laughter
echoing in your bones
from 5654 miles away,
my hands knowing
the age-old roads
that led to brand new places,
and the faded map of you
folded and kept hastily
in my back pocket.

*(I was far too proud
to ask for directions
to come home)

If I should Disappear,
Look far to the East.
You will see my spirit,
From a wondrous place.

A house full of glowing lights.
A place of delicious food.
The place where the young party!

All I see are green bottles of Soju.

Reality is a staircase leading nowhere.
Life, full of problems, is hard!
I work every day.
Korea is so far away!
My soul on fire and everlasting pain!
Korea someday!
Even if my ashes on a jet plane.

© 2013 Ronald J Chapman All Rights Reserved.