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Sabaydii,
Here is the continuation of a series ‘Coming home’ entitled ‘Finding my old self (2)’
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Getting inside the Sim[1]
Where mural painting
Depicting the life of Buddha
Pervading the entire walls
I let my eyes wander
Not to the painting
Impressive as it may be
But at the candle bearer
Made at the time of Chao Anou
A symbol of Lao’s renewal sense of themselves
Hard to say
Why this candle bearer caught my attention
Made out of fine wood
The two ends stood two Nagas[2]
With their heads badly torn
Bu still rose up defiantly
Against who?
We all knew so well
The strands that made of the body of the Nagas
Consisted of 7 pieces
Tightly strung together
Signifying all Lao Muang Lao
As one indestructible whole
The way the Naga body
Knitting together as one
I couldn’t help but asking
Was this going to be a moment
Like this again in the future?
In front of the colossal Buddha statue
Where the candle bearer stood
A young couple
Sat in the Lao way
Praying silently
Then a horde of Thai tourists
Popped their heads in
Accompanied by the voice of the Lao guide
Recounting the story of this great temple
With not a word denouncing
Siamese heartlessness
Lastly
An old guy took a seat behind me
And just stared at the candle bearer
As if he found it for the very first time
As suddenly as he appeared
He took off
Leaving me alone
For how long I don’t know
Until the gatekeeper came in
And told me it was time to close
With my head bowed
Unconcerned with the gatekeeper’s eyes
I kissed the ground
For this is the least I could do
For an unyielding Lao spirit
Refusing to die with time
As manifested by this temple
And Chao Anou himself
8.28.03