Vietnam – KensView

Who stole it?

Is it greedy presidential hacks
Or those barbaric Pentagon rats?
My Uncle Sam proclaims he wants me
But what really chases me up this tree?
IRS comes knocking for some tax
I comply for fear of seeming lax:
Vietnam, Chicago still on fire
But I stay at home with no desire
Newspapers decry crime on the streets
As nightly I hide beneath my sheets
Midnight specials for Russian roulette
It seems there is no other outlet
I quietly sit sipping my tea
While Tricky Dick spouts shit on TV
But when I cry “Civic Robbery”
I see that I stole myself from me.

War Is Not the Answer

I came to Paris to flee the war gods,
and their cynical words and cruelty,
each day viewing a decade of destruction
in the news from distant rice fields.

Tonkin Gulf, Tet Offensive, My Lai,
napalm and carpet bombing,
a naked child’s run down a road,
there were no good reasons for their lies.

As Nixon crows Hearts and Minds
and sprays Cambodia with Agent Orange,
some ask why so many have to die
while the war crawls on and goes nowhere.

Today began cold, wet, and gloomy
as I stand in front of the Hotel Majestic
encircled by Hanoi and Vietcong flags
and hard-nosed, head-bashing security.

First Madame Binh approaches
dressed up in a traditional Ao Dai,
then comes South Vietnam’s Lam
followed closely by the North’s Trinh.

Last in the solemn procession
is Secretary of State Rogers
hissed and jeered at by protestors
as his car warily nears.

There comes the signal of completion
followed by a rousing round of cheers
signaling that the fighting is over,
a futile conflict with nothing but loss.

But observing such a ruckus,
I feel alone at the curbside
only now fully realizing
the extent of my country’s defeat.

No Hearts or Minds

Dien Bien Phu, Khe Sanh
Hearts and minds, napalm
LBJ, Viet Cong
Tonkin Golf, protest song
Tet Offensive, Saigon
Ho Chi Minh, Nixon won
Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho
America is torn in two

The Ugly American

Portrayed through actions dark forces conceal,
A striking tale unfolds, its truth so real.
Probing humanity with candor unbound,
It was for young Me a viewing profound.
The pic’s canvas portrays a foreign land,
Where culture clashes are quick to command,
With people estranged, in turbulent seas,
It reveals a saga that aims for peace.
Amidst bustling streets of a foul regime,
A diplomat arrives in this strange scheme,
Presence peculiar to native view,
Holding our country’s biases as true.
Though the title bestowed shouts out deceit,
Beneath its veil, hints of empathy beat.
In “The Ugly American” we see
A puerile desire to change destiny.
Conflict he addresses with reckless care,
Neglecting effects and burdens they bear.
Acting with impatience and disdain,
He naively puts all on the same plain.
Only the truths he learns at the flick’s end
Brutally make him at last awaken:
His work there only serves to complicate,
Any chance for redemption may be too late.
In this intense tale, a mirror we find
Questions about our country’s state of mind.
I was aware of the cold war contest
But saw no side caring for the poorest.
If leaders had watched it and understood,
This work could have does us all good.