What Were They Like

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What Were They Like?
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When peaceful clouds were reflected in the
paddies...
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and the water buffalo stepped surely along
terraces
soldiers march there now
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maybe fathers told their sons old tales
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When bombs smashed those mirrors
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there was time only to scream.
To the mouth of the burnt child
Laughter is bitter
All the bones were charred
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after the children were killed there were no more
buds
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Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.
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During the 1950s and early 1960s, the USA funded
anti-communist leaders in South Vietnam
During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet
Union funded communist leaders in North Vietnam
As ever, in war, the civilians were caught in the
middle
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The peaceful clouds were smashed
by helicopters and bombs.
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Over a 25 year period, over 2.5 million people on
both sides were killed.
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The poet, Denise Levertov, (1923-1997 was active
in the protest movement against Americas
involvement in the war in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Levertov wrote the poem, What Were They Like? in
the early 1970s. She imagined what would happen
if the Vietnam war was allowed to completely
destroy Vietnamese society for ever.
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There is an echo yet of their speech which
was like a song.
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It was reported that their singing resembled
the flight of moths in moonlight.
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Who can say? It is silent now.