Sunday, July 17, 2011

Riding Through Cambodia

rural roads

rising sun

buddhist temple

clanging gong

a nun with shaven head

clad in white

wearing the expression of the sphinx



brown-skinned school children

sleepy-eyed

big smiles

bare feet

bicycles too big

what do they dream of

besides enough to eat?



radios blaring

people call "hello" from their doorstep

or stand and stare

as water buffalo graze

geese honk

roosters crow

and scooters growl



women on their way

to market

faces swathed in scarves

mask them from

the ever present dust and sun

look over their shoulders

smiling shyly with their eyes



muddy puddles

from last night's rain

motorcycles bearing impossible loads

children with no clothes

grandmothers with no teeth

whose eyes have seen

unspeakable tragedy


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