Thai Symphony

 And God said, “Let there be rain,”

and last night there was water

upon the dark world making it

a no-man’s land of gushing trenches

lit only by distant star shells.

We huddled inside while visions

on military TV showed a general

in a white uniform kneeling

before a picture of a king too frail

to attend the ceremony.  It seemed

the ultimate selfie.

Amid the rat-a-tat-tat and booms

of the war outside a group of toads

took up an anvil chorus that sounded

like school-yard swings in need of oil.

FG 5/28/2014