1. Point of view
About Me
- Lee Chin Ann
- A passionate HwaChongian in Squash , standing at a mere 1.55m.
Henry M Bechtold was in Vietnam in 1967 - 68 and again in 1969. He goes back often because his soul lives in Vietnam and he goes back to visit it from time to time.
He was sitting in my hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009 and was trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. He was angry but unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. He looked at the TV and the news was on. He did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle. This poem flowed out. The words just came to him and he typed as fast as I could to get it all down.
Taken from: http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Children_
Children in the Darkness
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free
Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance
Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole
Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
Henry M Bechtold