Nu Quang
Seattle, Washington, USA

Another Era

our footprints
return to the shore
of the Mekong

In a jam-packed sidewalk café in Ho Chi Minh City, he goes to a small table with an empty chair.

"I'm Binh. You are . . . ?"

"Tom."

"Nice to meet you. Are you a tourist like me?"

"No. I work for my friend's company." Tom looks at him."Are you from here?"

"I was. I fled the country with my mom and dad and my sister thirty-some years ago. Do you remember the boat people?"

"Yeah. But I didn't pay them much attention."

"I understand. That happened just four years after the war ended. Our memories of the war and its aftermath were still fresh." He holds up his iced-coffee like toasting.

Tom clinks his glass with a smile.

midnight stars
faint voices
on the river