Hong Kong Malady

A headache is a kind of terminal disease

the doctor won’t prescribe more than three days’ worth of Panadol

so you drag your ass to Circle K

where Panadol products are 10% off

and come with free keychains

the more you buy the more freebies you get

Being too sensitive to the air is a malady

growing up in a public housing project, I had

headaches fevers

a runny nose watery eyes weak limbs

and difficulty breathing

I was stuffed with toilet paper

I’d lie in bed making up stories, reluctant to get up

this lasted sixteen years

Next it was the food

I’d vomit all night

and only get up to use the toilet

When I finally managed to

escape this box called Hong Kong

my sensitivities became numb

health comes down to being insensitive

to being indifferent

to the world

the body is happy when it’s not putting up a fight

when you’re at ease

between daylight and darkness

when the sunlit bricks aren’t scorching hot

being alive doesn’t seem that hard

In Hong Kong

I have never been healthy

I peddle boredom and irritation wholesale

no wonder I write

_____

Yau Ching. “香港病” from 不可能的家 The Impossible Home. Hong Kong: dirty press, 2000.