Hierarchies

I

Our mid-afternoon rendezvous
With Germanic efficiency
Comes as a relief, a respite
From Italian relaxation.
Forget the authenticity
Of being somewhere different!
Just once, we want to be greeted
By free WiFi, saunas and peace
Which only money can purchase.
Is this not what we came here for,
To be able to report back
Our conquests at our own leisure?

II

At night, in the Palais Auersperg,
Orchestra, singers and dancers
Conspire to make us feel special.
Led aside to a private room
During the brief intermission,
It is hard not to fall for this.
Re-emerging, an audience
Of Chinese tourists meets our eyes,
Possibly wondering about
These fellow travellers, strolling
Out with forbidden cameras,
Now performers in our own right.

This is a reprint of work originally published in The Ofi Press Magazine.

Ian Chung