Sabaydii,

 

Here is the continuation of a series ‘Coming home’ entitled ‘The returnee’

 

Hakphaang,

 

My wife’s grandma

Lived behind the Thai Embassy

With some time to spare

I went to see her

 

The house

My wife once lived

While her father the major in the old regime

Went to Samanar

Or the detention camp

Was quite big

 

 

The owner

My wife’s uncle

Once left the country

Was now back

 

Having no kids whatsoever

He and his wife – a Souvannavong[1]

Decided to come back to Laos

After many years of exile in France

 

With a degree in accounting

His wife landed a job

With the French cultural center

But it was completely a different story for him

 

 

Good only with the game of tennis

It was hard to get clients rich enough

To pay his dues

 

Worse yet

When applying for a national team coach

He was told

They couldn’t consider his candidacy

For he was not a member

What an exclusive club indeed

 

Mad at what he got

He bombarded at the government

Promising so much for the returnee

But delivering so little

 

Now what will the returnee like him do?

But gluing himself in front of the satellite TV

And lamenting the good years

Gone by

 

 

My classmate Nu

Married to the family

And living there

Had no less a nice word

To the power-that-be

 

A doctor himself

And seen quite a world

Being with the soccer national team

Was looking forward to the days

The old guard was gone

And came hopefully

The new leaders

Visionary enough

To bring Laos out of this inertia

 

Laos

I wonder

When is fate going to be with her?

With all Lao?

 

 

My wife’s grandma

Had seen all

Both the good and ugly side of life

And so does the life of the country

 

Will she live long enough?

To see all her children

And grandchildren

Had a better share

In their very own country

 

Can’t say for sure

For when she left the world

A few years later

Laos was still slowly

Emerging from the dark

 

9.9.03