A Massage in Malaysia

Just got back home from a one-and-a-half
hour long massage.. sheer bliss....
and it only cost 35 Ringgit, ie. $17.50 Singapore
dollars or about $10 US dollars.

There is something special about the healing
touch of a massage.

Soothing an aching neck and back...smoothing
out the knots that come from circling
the road of life over and over... magically transforming a hard brick
into a soft, melting lump of butter.

You can say all you want about the benefits
of those robotic massage armchairs, or those
massaging feet machines, but nothing beats
the feeling of two warm hands and an able
masseuse.

And when the massage is done, you're just overcome
with a sense of gratefulness, because under all our make-up,
our fancy schmanzy clothes, under all the guises of business
men and women, of tyrannical monarchs, of powerful politicians,
of be-spectacled college professors, of muscular bodybuilders
and chauvanistic men or raging feminists....under
all the masks and pretences that we wear...
we're all beating hearts, blood and flesh...

and sometimes, all we need to melt our armours away,
is a simple touch that shows someone cares.