CAMBODIAN CONTRAST
PART 1 - ANKOR WAT
300,000 people for 30 years
shaping and moving
rocks into stones
stones into stories
sculpting the Gods,
with exquisite details.
Among the Vishnus
The newer Bhuddas
with praying monks.
Now 900 years later,
We wander around
staring with wonder
at the devotion and brilliance
that created this temple.
Admiring this work of art
never to be repeated.
These skills on this scale
are dead and buried.
These stories of battles and Gods
reflect our own inner battles.
We see the exquisite (carved) reliefs
realizing we are witnessing
every civilizations life and death
journey,
playing out century after century.
PART 2 - KHMER ROUGE
From this Bhuddist world
a cancer became a monster.
white skulls rose out of the fields,
the killing fields.
Now displayed
layer upon layer
shelf upon shelf
in the glass tower
rising into the sky.
Walking slowly around
in a haze of horror.
all we can do now
is to offer:
lotuses, incense and prayers.
Ruthless brainwashing
then killing
intent on removing all resistance
all thinking people,
so that absolute power
would be theirs.
Ultimately overthrown
leaving families destroyed.
Resilience and rebirth,
compassion and forgiveness,
carry Cambodia forward.
Never to be forgotten,
but forgiven enough,
so life can continue
so joy and happiness
can be found again.
VIETNAM TIME
I am a child in London.
Uncle Max’s gift arrives monthly
National Geographic
I love the photos.
Sometime in the 60’s an article mentions
Military Advisors in Vietnam.
Living in England I am oblivious
that an actual war started there,
and now I am here in Saigon.
The city of 7 million “Hondas”,
fearlessly carrying parents and kids.
The country of Weasel coffee,
Water buffalo and floating villages.
Coffee shops and hammocks,
communism and cronyism
entrepreneurs and capitalism.
Families buried in colorful tombs
in the middle of rice paddies
ensuring these farms are never sold.
While our American companions
crawl into
the wartime tunnels,
I walk into
the Ho Chi Min City Art Gallery.
Room by room history unfolds,
from ancient sculptures and ceramics
to paintings of love between mothers and children,
to Students confronting American Imperialism
and Guerilla warfare in the Jungles.
Folk art showing village life and mythical creatures.
A Lacquer screen showing farewells and celebrations.
The war was half a century ago,
leaving only tunnels and museums.
The French occupation left its legacies
the opera house and great patisseries.
Nightlife reveals unexpected delights:
The sounds of live musicians
playing instruments new to us.
The water puppet show
and the Bamboo circus,
unique performances never to be forgotten.
Like the most sumptuous, scrumptious breakfast buffet
one is ever likely to experience
and never to be forgotten.
©MartinStrasmore2023