Scent and sound

 May the scent you wear
be as subtle and pleasing
as that of a frangipani tree

 May the voice you speak with
be deep and quiet,
gentle and slow

 And may you be aware
that not everyone in town
wants to hear your conversation
or inhale your perfume

 That is what was written
on a sign at the entrance
of Café Quiet

 ♫ ♫ ♫

 Luli’s father
could hear her voice,
and it seemed
that he could hear no other

 Perhaps he was just pretending
not to hear what others said
in order to avoid
having to talk with them

 Or perhaps he had trained his ears
to only let in
pleasing sounds

 We can learn a lot from the Lao,
she said,
for example how to talk
on a telephone

 They understand
that the microphone on a mobile phone
is quite good
and that there is no need to shout
into everyone’s ears

 They speak so quietly
both in person
and when on the phone
that those who are standing,
sitting
or lying around nearby
cannot hear
what is being said

 The Lao are smart

 Yeah
They understand telephone technology
better than most

 And they don’t go around
infringing on other people’s rights

 I don’t think Lao
has ever attacked another country

 Or tried to impose their way of life on others

 Well,
the communists have done quite a bit of killing
and forced a number of unpopular changes
at home

 Yeah
Their government kind of sucks

So does ours

Yeah

 An annoying ringtone
then sounded loudly
and continued to disturb the peace
until the owner of the phone
finally got around
to answering the call

 Sounds like she needs a different job

 And a different boyfriend

 She sure complains a lot

 And wears a lot of perfume

 I think she used the whole bottle

 And it looks like she’s going to talk for some time

 Let’s go somewhere quieter

 Somewhere where the air is fresh

 Wait
It looks like the waiter
is going to ask her to leave

 She doesn’t seem to understand
why anyone would object
to her presence

 There she goes

 In a huff

 I love this café

 Me too