he bought three bottles of them in penghu
they looked liked used galien bottles
filled with paint thinner and a centipede
he drank it with a taiwanese guy
who just finished singing
house of the rising sun

why are reptiles supposed to make
my penis hard in this country?

one of the bottles exploded at the airport
he imagined customs officials in Los Angeles
pulling out the long centipede
its giant claws that magnified into grotesque nightmare images
but two made it through

he gave one bottle to a wine importer, the other, he gave to his brother
the wine importer keeps it on his desk
i ask him to open it when i visit him
"not a chance," he says