Silver Buddhas
(for Kate)
The one thing I do remember
is that silver chain
in the pouring rain
and the captain’s silver Buddha
which had no eyes, but merely
tiny, silver blanks
which took his thanks
before each thrust, in the lonely
moments before his radio barked
its garbled orders;
on vague borders
of distant ricefields, hovels marked
as likely Viet-Cong targets.
(In the Buddha’s hands
the captain stands
praying he’ll make his quota of hits
this morning.) In the shadows
the grey mines
were stacked, carbines
loaded. In the deep, cool narrows
between the mist-held trees
two black GIs
rolled their eyes
in sorry preparation: for their ease
the captain's men were gently placing
their silver Buddhas
in their mouths,
sucking on the metal, drawing
out of each of them a sort
of quiet, a peace,
a gradual lease
on time, before their fate was caught
by a rifle shot they’d never hear.
The grasses open.
In a token
minute, the Buddhas shall fall clear
of their open mouths, breath risen
finally, blood no
longer pumping below
their chests - and the meek souls shriven.
Page(s) 83
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