the deer did not
stop running
leopards
climbed into trees
that could not
hide them
the douc langur
and the white
cheeked gibbon
cursed at the
metal gods
we flew
raining
on them
as they burned
from napalm
elephants
choked on the
smoke of gunpowder
and poison
their steps
a strange
rhythm
as they tried
to fly
the thunder
of bombs echoed the steps
of elephants
tigers exploded
as they stepped
onto landmines
in a forest covered
with leaves
dead from
Agent Orange,
fallen trees and
decomposing
bodies of animals
and people
the earthworms
were washed away
in monsoons
with soil that could
no longer grab onto
roots
the Javan
rhinoceros
and the wild
water buffalos
that were still
alive
wandered
aimlessly
weary
with M16s
and AK-47s, we
marched quietly
and steadily
not knowing
why we were
killing each other
*For ten years, the U.S. Air Force flew nearly 20,000 herbicide spray missions in order to destroy the forest cover as well as agriculture lands in key areas of southern Việt Nam.
First published in Kyoto Journal, Issue #79, 2014.
Teresa Mei Chuc was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and immigrated to the United States under political asylum with her mother and brother shortly after the Vietnam War.