Sabaydii,

 

Here is the continuation of a series ‘Coming home’ entitled ‘DokHak[1] revisited’

 

Hakphaang,

 

 

Standing there

In front of the classroom

Beautiful as ever

A woman of my love

This heart just wouldn’t forget

 

With the long stick on her hand

Pointing at the writing on the blackboard

Her students read aloud

English lessons of course

 

What a chorus indeed

With over half a hundred voices

Packed in a middle size classroom

Every inch of the space fully occupied

 

When her eyes wandered around the room

And stopped at me

I could see

A tinge of surprise

Bubbling in those twinkling eyes of hers

 

 

A few days ago

Not long after my coming back to Vientiane

I stopped by to see her at her house

The one I frequented many times before

 

Didn’t want to say

What I really felt

What my love could be

May the bygones be bygones

 

Then why did I come back

Seeing her again?

Maybe to get a last look

At the young girl I dearly loved

Now a mature woman

 

Or maybe

To let her know

Of all people in this land

No one was dearer to me than she was

 

With her students

Giggling at the two of us

Didn’t know why

I said ‘good bye’ to her

Knowing full well

This would be the last time

We would ever meet

 

Like Muang Lao

Meant so much to me

Destined I was to be apart

And so did my love to her

 

9.10.03

 

Notes

 

She is an English teacher for the secondary school located inside Dongdok campus. Don’t know why.