*ANGEL-IN-THE-FULL-MOON

Delighted by the small, blue-feathered bird,

flitting among the tender young rice shoots,

she smiled at her friends, in the rice field,

and her parents cleaning fish for dinner.

The soft afternoon rain cooled the air and

 little Ha’ng Thi.

They came from the north, huddled, crouching

searching for food, young men, and young girls.

They came in the light of the moon creeping,

so the boys and girls could not run away.

They took the rice, the fish, the young men, and,

 one by one, they took Ha’ng Thi.

They came from the south, swift, swooping down,

their deadly silver birds glinting in the sun.

Searching for those from the north,

Releasing blind, savage fire from beneath their wings,

they seared the tender young rice shoots, and blue feathered birds,

 and Ha’ng Thi.

By Charlie Bryant

*"Angel in the Full Moon Poem" is a translation of the Vietnamese name "Ha'ng Thi" into English.

I AM A WARRIOR

I am a warrior.

I fling my winged craft into the deepening blue

searching the jungle below for my prey.

A patchwork of thatched roofs shields the enemy.

I reach for the switch to select the pylon.

They say the bomb will save more lives than it will take.

Will it seek only the enemy cowering among the people?

Will it spare the innocents?

Or when I press the button,

Will I unleash a horror I can never retrieve?

But I am a warrior.

Those are not my thoughts to think.

I press the button.

By Charlie Bryant