BAH. i love everything about this except the last paragraph. okay dont kill me i know its so totally supposed to be there and all but yeahhs.

i thought this was excellent, in the sense that you managed to invest a lot of emotion into it without making it maudlin. it was subtly bittersweet, and the effect was pretty powerful. it was distant, yet intense at the same time. great write.

wow. powerful. makes our hearts go out to them. the title was superb and very apt. but aren't you being a little racist or something here? cos its not only caucasians who make up her clientele. theres all the old 'ah peks'. (old men)

the line does she know how to love is straight and to the point.

you go gal.

icykayle

You're so insightful... good poem, sad subject matter.

i kind of agreed with Crimsonised that is a little direct in descriptions (oh god, im turning into florence lian, agreeing with everyone else) but , the poem would have lost its strength if you had gone roundabout. this way gives the poem a bitter tone, lets us feel the girl's pain. she only knows how to express it this way.

i thought that the "can't even read the name of the hotels" line was really good.

the last line was a lovely wrapup, though i wonder if the effect would have been increased if you switched POV and said "what did i ever do wrong?" but thats an opinion.

the poem's the kind that makes me shudder inside at our own society, and makes the hair on my neck prickle. go mel.

athena

Oh! This is brilliant! And I THANK you for writing this! I am sick of people writing about prostitutes as if it were their choice to do what they do, and if it were a joy to them. I think this is really well written, and says the truth as well. I'm from a country from which a lot of prostitutes come from...they're kidnapped and forced to prostitute themselves, and it's really terrifying. Amazing poem! Love it! Mia

I liked the lines "knows how to massage and cook Thai curry ... does she know how to love?". Some of the reviews you've recieved for this have already said it all. It really is unfortunate that there are so many terrible things taking place in the world, but you've really addressed this issue with your usual agreeable, down-to-business poetic form. Good job.

You've left me speechless, all I can say is, "Wow."

excellent poem. I like the ending, and it's very well-expressed.

wow...this is a writing of socialist, one who cares for the sinking of humanity, I loved the line, "doesn't feel when they touch her any more." It really is essence of the poem...

Strong piece. I notice you put "rich Caucasians", but I know you realize that "rich Chinese" or "rich Thai" all fit, and are more in line with the reality. Education,—if you have to educate a man or woman—educate a woman! She raises an entire family. The tragedy is that poverty begets poverty—selling your body is just another profession of the poor. To break the cycle—education and jobs. Tough social issue. m

Oh wow...That's terrible. The fact that someone would have to go through all this, not the poem itself. The writing is far from terrible. It's really good, and I can really feel the apathy (can you even do that?) that she's grown towards her job, herself, etc. It's so sad that someone would have to go through this! You captured the feeling really well.

Hmm okay this is a bit weird. thought it was a bit too direct, the descriptions. can't say much.