O Vacuum 

Tham Piew Cave 24 November 2008 – photo by Willy Bach

I met a man

Told me his story

He had to look his children

And ours

In the eye

He was sketchy in parts

But remembered a place

Not far from Sài Gòn

They tested weapons

He wondered how

People could imagine

Weapons like these

Weapons and enemies

Need each other

He wondered how

To look his children

And ours

In the eye

One weapon

He remembered

They tested

Frightened its inventors

Too potent to use

One kilometre radius

Silent

Every cricket

Bird and mouse

Snake and dog

Dead still

Total kill

How could you look

Your children

In the eye

Dedicated to Phuong Le Duc

On 24 November 2008 I visited Tham Piew Cave, Xieng Khouang Province, Lao PDR for the fortieth anniversary of the USAF bombing, which killed 374 people, including many women and children. Some accounts suggest that the bomb used in this attack was a thermobaric, or fuel-air explosive bomb. They knew there was something unusual. The cave was too hot for rescue crews to enter the cave – they had to wait three days. When they entered the cave, it was a scene of horror.