Saigon Poem

(For June)


I still think of Mui Ne
and the nice people I met there,
the locals, and the strangers
who walked the beaches,
and spent precious time with me...

I met a young couple
from Shanghai,
we talked in the late of the night,
as the waves pounded the shore,
about Chinese culture and politics,
how the military there today
hates Mao,
and the young generation empty
in soul and spirit despite
the progress of the body...

I met a lady from Slovenia,
and her boyfriend,
and how they wish so much
to visit the Philippines:
and  I told them how beautiful
our islands are -
Palawan and Boracay,
and Hundred Islands,too,
and a lot more of places to see...

I met a couple from France,
they are touring Vietnam
from Hanoi to Saigon;
I invited them to the Philippines,
and they wish to visit
our heritage someday...


I met other people,
some of them were not
as tender and joyful as the rest,
proving what humanity is,
and what they can become.

I still think of Mui Ne
as I write this poem in Saigon,
my cycling hours in the afternoon,
to see the yellow sanddunes and
the fishing village,
and the ball of fire slowly sinking
in the cold, eternal sea...
I wish you are with me...


Norbert L. Mercado
Saigon, South Vietnam
November 17,10:00 PM