FIVE POEMS by Herbert Krohn
CAN THO
Can Tho, favela of crowing cocks
Favela of my dreams
Can Tho's
tin
rooftops conduct the rains
To Can Tho's muddy streams
Her swallows tum and veer in the sun
And sing in whistles and screams.
I love the gentle people of this city
Fragile as birdsong, flexible as rice
, I
Yet birds can awaken armies, and rice can sing in the wind.
I love this race of farmers and musicians
With a love that no more needs reciprocation
Than my love for bread and songs.
American soldiers,
The cocks of Can Tho crowed when you arrived here
Like Can Tho's women cooing
"No sweat, I love you too much"
When
first
you meet.
American soldiers,
The cocks who crow at morning and at evening
Will crow triumphantly at your departure
Like Can Tho's women nursing
Fatherless children whom you never knew.
Can Tho, Viet Nam 1966
