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Best Poems From
YEN CRESS
(3/9/43)
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5.
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At the Midway
A sow bug ambled cheerfully
Along a country trail.
He felt quite safe and debonair
Inside his coat of mail.
He saw a country fair nearby.
Such music! Oh, what fun!
Some games and rides might make his day,
So he began to run.
He rolled into a little ball
To cross a rut with ease.
But when he reached the other side,
A wonder made him freeze.
With coat of armor just like his-
(And ears and tail beside) -
What was this splendid creature that
Our little friend espied?
A GIANT sow bug, to be sure,
So tall, so long, so wide!
The sow bug smiled, and climbed aboard
The Armadillo Ride.
Yen Cress
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6.
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Black April
In Remembrance of 4/30/75
From inland mountains to the salt-soaked shore,
From China's border to the southern plains,
The earth lies drenched in sweat and bloody gore,
And tears keep falling like the summer rains.
Where is the peace we offered to restore?
What have we done, and who has paid the price?
Two million bodies live and breathe no more,
And corpses rot in graves near fields of rice.
A father weeps; his only son is dead.
Small children cry; their mothers cannot come.
A boy is blinded; old rags swathe his head.
Young widows beg the mercy of Quan Am.
The Viet Cong's unconquered force descends
And settles on fair Saigon like a pall.
Her doom is sealed; her hope of freedom ends.
In Vietnam, this spring is called The Fall.
It's time to go. We push the clamor back,
Ignoring shrieks from those we leave behind.
We slam the gates against their frenzed attack
And flee the press of desperate humankind.
We did our best; our best did not suffice.
We look around at all we've lost, once more.
We head for home and grimly sacrifice
Another country to the god of war.
Yen Cress
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7.
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Brief Encounter
'What is that? ' the children cried.
'It has no feet, no eyes, no ears! '
'A snail, ' I told the little dears.
'And see? Its body disappears!
It pulls into its shell to hide.'
The children watched the snail come out
And slowly start to crawl away.
'Oh! See him go! ' I heard them say.
'Perhaps he doesn't want to play.'
I said, 'You're right, without a doubt.'
The snail amused each little friend
By gliding up from leaf to rose
And eating every bit he chose
Until our day came to a close-
But each child's learning had no end.
Yen Cress
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8.
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Bros
You back again?
Who sent you an invitation?
Never mind.
Welcome to the comforts of home
Among the homeless!
Sit down right there on that bald Mich'lin.
Rest yer weary legs on the Goodyear hassock.
Rest while we share
A cup of fresh-brewed
Mis'ry.
I 'member it well-the year we walked the PCH
And then rode east on the 'Hound.
My one day's panhandlin' paid the fare
For both of us.
You ol' freeloader-
You still owe me one!
We's two of a kind,
You and me,
Unwelcome in po-lite so-ciety.
Them uppity folks
Don't like the likes of us
Hangin' 'round
They's carefully constructed
Pro-fessionally deco-rated
Illusions.
Years ago they banished us
To the 'Nam.
'Member them cardboard hootches?
Them tin can fires?
Leeches?
Ain't much differ'nt here.
They say
Ever'thing comes back home
Someday.
Yen Cress
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