by Teresa Mei Chuc

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.

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