STUCK NEEDLE

if we could see the shadows the littlest things cast...
the rain brings blessed relief
pelting down on this beseiged city
in tracing paper sheets
washing off a thick layer
of sweat and dust and grime
from the grey concrete epidermis
when the rain comes
they run and hide their heads
they might as well be dead
i am almost alone
in this soaring absorbing
anonymous cacophanous
metropolis
semi-sheltered
by the gently dripping boughs
and supple bending leaves
of the arboreal canopy
the lush foliage
that defiantly braves
this choking urban air
i am not entirely devoid of human company
the occasional faceless umbrella scurries past
on its way to a date
with one of those stupid umbrella condom dispensers
that now proliferate so freely
among the security-guarded lobbies
of our kind corporate benefactors
however i am overpoweringly outnumbered
by an army of winged antenna-waving six-legged friends
an ear-needling 'mem-mmemm-MMEMM-MMMEMMM' vibrates incessantly
from above my ahead
like a one-instrument celestial orchestra
stuck on a buzzy note
the koreans call them 'memi's
which i guess is onomatopaeic
oh yeah
the cicadas are out in force these days
whatever the weather
come rain come shine
ear-piercing in volume they may be
but not so obvious to the naked eye
not because of their size
(hey these dino-sized macro-insect babies
cut those flitty lightweight dragonfly pretenders
right down to size!)
no these big fat buggies
are cunningly camouflaged
the precise same colour as the tree bark
but when i stick my nose
right up close to the rough dark elephant skin
and crane my neck upwards
all i can see is hundreds of these bug-eyed monsters
as big as your thumb
clinging stubbornly to the tree trunk
fiddling on their one-note symphony
while seoul burns
or sweats
or soaks
but don't get me wrong
i love this tropical jungle sound
so exotic
so sensual
so un-english
and it sure beats
the lonely alienating downtown traffic roar