Saigon Battle Children 1972
While i was learning to savour the new taste of cashew and walnut in the autumn of that year
You were learning to eat the bones of your neighbours’ dog as you fled from an earth gone moist
When the leaves of war were torn from the jungle as a cavalry of shrapnel burnt away the air
You were learning to hold your breath while i was doing the same in a suburban swimming pool
When the dust of your family filled the lids of your eyes being left to see for yourself held quite a different meaning
While your skin seared from the heat of warfire I was feeling the warmth of a shopping centre in winter
When you went without feet, a landmine exploding your underneath world underneath, I sprained an ankle at basketball
When the words of an american god spat forth from an automatic weapon, you saw the tongues of the lamb inviting you to feast in a foreign language
And while i drew in crayon on the kindergarten wall
You were drawn in the crosshairs just before the smell of cordite.
MChallis © 1998
