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themoonman
themoonman
Jan 29, 2009 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Cambodian Press

She rode her metal pony
down the battered beaten streets.
Taking pictures for her catalouge,
but she would remember what she'd seen.

She couldn't wrap the smell in plastic,
and hoped that memory would fade...
the smell of death... so overwhelming,
she took the pictures anyway.

The horrors that had ravaged here,
her mind is all but gone...
the bones of attempted genocide,
the Killing Fields at dawn.
— themoonman, Jan 29, 2009

About This Poem

About the Author

Region, Country: South Carolina, United States, USA

More from this author

Critiques

deelilah

deelilah

17 years 4 months ago

Hello Richard

Haven't been here for a while, and I missed your poetry--. As always you have shown the capacity you have for variety. As soon as I think I might know a little something about you, you throw out a new side to yourself. The images here are vivid--the line: 'she couldn't wrap the smell in plastic' is very effective. Deelilah
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Hi Deelilah...

It is good to see you... and I appreciate your words of encouragement... My wife and I take turns reading aloud some special books to one another... the book that sparked this write was such a haunting upon my mind... thank you Richard
Janice Pearce

Janice Pearce

17 years 4 months ago

Cambodian Press

Moon, This is one of my favorites from you. You brought me there with your descriptions; metal pony, wrap the smell in plastic, her mind is all but gone, Very very good! ______________________________________________________ Income-tax forms should be more realistic by allowing the taxpayer to list "Uncle Sam" as a dependent Anonymous
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Janice...

your words will be with me this day... thank you, I am glad you liked it! Richard
Proprietress of Crimson Hearts

Proprietress o…

17 years 4 months ago

Mr. Moonman,

I was delighted when I saw you had posted a new piece and even more delighted after reading it. you write of such dark things. but you do not force emotions on the reader, you let the words sink in and the reader decide how to feel. I don't know how you did it but bravo! applause and a hearty standing ovation, your Proprietress
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Proprietress...

there you are with your look into... your kind wordings make me feel much more than I am... Richard
tbeaudet

tbeaudet

17 years 4 months ago

Tough, sad subject matter

but very descriptive and well written. I will add to my list of books to read. Nice to see you're still writing. Tom
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Hi Tom...

thank you for the read and the comment... and if you read the book I think it will be among your favorites as it is mine... Richard
LD

leonard daranjo

17 years 4 months ago

Hi Richard

I love it when poets write about things that have actually happened, the poems that never let us forget the evil that has been unleashed upon the earth. This is exactly what you have here and - not just that: you have done it exceedingly well. My hat off to you my poet friend Leonard
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Leonard...

When I look back at the time this was happening, I was young and dumb and so unaware... and since then, events like these have happened across our world of higher humanities... takes one down to another level of thought... a lesser sort of knowing, a wondering of how could it be... sorry, but your words bring out the wonderer in me and I thank you for that... and for reading my little write... Richard
S

Stella

17 years 4 months ago

Dear Richard, Glad to see

Dear Richard, Glad to see you posting again. You are so versatile in your writing, I love that! The first two lines of the second stanza are extremely strong. I'm actually reading The Road (Cormac McCarthy) at the moment which that stanza reminds me of as well. Amazing write Richard ~Stella
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Stella...

thank you for those words... although I feel this one could have been a bit longer but I lost the inspiration and cleaned up what I had... A friend of mine is currently reading "the road" also... he says it is very good... thank you for reading and commenting... Richard
C

Conect11

17 years 4 months ago

it's never easy

to tackle such grave writes, but you have done well. But herein you've reminded me of true poetry, if you will. (and this is not to insult your fine work) I remember again that true poetry isn't in the written word, it is in examples like this, the poor people of Cambodia as they suffered the Khmer Rouge, or in any oppressed people. It is in the simple lives where poetry is found, in the ashes from burnt land that we see God's love in one unbroken home. Thank you for reminding me of this, even if inadvertantly. Mark W. Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against these, there is no law!" My favorite verse(s) in the Bible
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Mark...

I thank you for your eloquent remarks and for what you've taken from my poem... Richard
A

Arrow

17 years 4 months ago

So glad to see this topic!

I've long had an interest in the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot and was fortunate enough to have the chance to interview a refugee (who lost his family). As a French student, I was required to keep abreast of a French-speaking country and chose Cambodia. I never hear about it anymore. We don't forget other genocides. Why have we forgotten this one?
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Arrow...

many of the atrocities performed upon others have been swept under the rug for different reasons... Pol Pot was ruthless and meant to carry out his plans for wiping out the Peoples of the Cambodian tragedy... his use of propaganda and terror upon the trusting people is something we should all be aware of... for it is happening in other parts of the world...even today... I'm not sure what is wrong with the memory of mankind... but as poets we can spark the fires... cross the barriers... and open minds. I am so glad you commented... Richard
Kailashana

Kailashana

17 years 4 months ago

Dearest Richard, thank you

Dearest Richard, thank you for your succinct, heart-felt poem. I remember reading/seeing the Killing Fields and I literally was unable to breathe in some of the scenes. You have once again reminded me that my own concerns are negligible in the scheme of things. Arrow, you ask "why have we forgotten this one?" If we would remember genocide, especially the "never again" stamped in our collective consciousness. Rwanda would not have happened, the Congo, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Gaza, and others would not be taking place now. A group I have long supported: *Doctors Without Borders* http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ scroll down to the Top 10 Humanitarian Crises of 2008; every year they issue one. Coincidentally (or not) I saved this article posted to my Middle East Peace Forum on Genocide: http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/history/?tr=y&auid=4440043 ~A
themoonman

themoonman

17 years 4 months ago

Hi Anna...

I am glad to have the chance of being here and contributing to any awareness at all... I thank you for reminding us all that these acts are being continued in terrible ways throughout our precious world... Richard
C

Conect11

17 years 4 months ago

Anna,

you brought up a great point, about the genocides in Rwanda, Solalia, et al. In the political circles I think remembrances go only as far as the next power hungry leader wants them to. Otherwise we'd all remember not just these atrocities, but those stretching back for multiple millenia and across all human dominated continents. That there are wonderful groups like Doctors Without Borders, and Sisters of Charity, that there are groups that show the love of God testifies to the tenderness of the human spirit amongst great cruelty and evil. We must support their efforts, and work, where we can, to impact our world. I'm glad for your continued efforts and awareness. Mark W. Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against these, there is no law!" My favorite verse(s) in the Bible