Bang For Freedom
Bangs… shots of memories past
Take me back to where I was…
The barbed wire walls,
The plank beds
The grenades fall.
My eyes were wide open
Like a lost deer separated from the herd.
The smoke clouding my eyes,
Even the wisdom of the elders failed;
Garlic would not ward off
The sting grenades.
Rattans banging, bludgeons banging,
My chest dense with smoke
For the fire consumed the silhouette against the blackened sky.
My eyes were wide open
To see through the cloud of tears,
The flagging sign: SOS freedom.
Cardboard strewn,
Hearts wounded and lost
Like lights just turned off.
The ears ring, zinging
From the bangs.
My eyes were wide open…
Now, against the blackened sky
Shots of memories from years past:
The grenade, the rattan, and the bludgeon.
I still see the fire ablaze
and my heart bangs
For the crickets chirping,
For the ribbits echoing,
For the night birds singing,
For the pond to cradle me,
For the boundless grass,
For my silhouette forever burns
In the night full of freedom.
November 16, 2020
Copyright © Huyen Nguyen | Year Posted 2020
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