Sabaydii,

Here is the continuation of a series 'Coming home' entitled 'Bailan - our face to the past'

Hakphaang,

While waiting for Euay Dara

At her Bailan preservation office

I talked to a not-so-old man

Obviously in love with what he was doing

With a Bailan

Caringly laid down in front

He translated what the writing

TuaTham or the old language said

As I listened to his translation

I was struck

How civilized our ancestors once were

How wise their words rang in my ears

What had happened to us lately

How could we descend so low

I just couldn't imagine

Remember

At Wat Phakeo

Just witnessing the TuaTham stele

I felt awed

At whom we once were

Only this great of people like ours

Could achieve that high

Must be

We have been sleeping

A century or so

We are but a standstill

In a whirlpool of lightning change

It is said

Wherever TuaTham is used

Lao civilization and legitimacy are there

No one else but

We Quon Lao used TuaTham

To as far as Khorat

And the whole of Isan itself

The Lao were once undisputedly the king

Only that we take to our heart

We would never be lost again

As a voice from the past

Bailan spoke to me

Through me

Loud and clear

What a fool I am

What a fool we become

How dare we forget ourselves

Is there any tongue

Sweeter than our own language?

Is there any land

Greater than the land of our ancestors?

With my hand on Bailan

I felt the hand that made it

I felt what it was to be

A proud Lao towering the sky

And through his touch

Our great ancestors' touch

I saw my face reflected in the texture

Strong proud

And I liked it

9.26.03

Notes

-          Bailan is the palm manuscript

-          TuaTham is the old Lao language used to write the religious texts.

Here is the continuation of a series 'Coming home' entitled 'a walk in the rain'

Hakphaang,

 Been to Vientiane for quite some time

The rain hadn't glazed the sky yet

Or the rain season was over

I wasn't sure

Too long an absence from Muang Lao

I didn't remember the rain cycle

In the country any more

With jean denim shirt and tennis shoes

I took off to the Mekong

Wanting to see

Wanting to feel

What it was like

To walk barefoot in the Mekong

The river of Muang Lao

The very lifeblood of the country

Half way through

Dark clouds began to form

And out of nowhere

Drops of rain tumbling down

From the grim sky

I saw pedestrians made a dash move

To the buildings by the roadside

I alone

For some unknown reasons

Walked on

Maybe it was the rain

Lao rain

Caught me under its spell

See how it fell on my face

Bare arms and neck

Nowhere on earth

Where the rain was this magical

This trance-like effect

But in the country of my ancestors

Each drop falling on my skin

Reminding me of the days

I ran wild with only a short on

Greeting the rain

Greeting what life may bring

Or maybe it was just

To be alive

The realization I had experienced for so long

I don't know

Whatever it is

I let myself be one with the rain

Soaking myself through

With all its hopes

Its dreams

And its worries

When I reached the bank of the Mekong

No one but me stood looking

At the swift current flowing by

With my shoes put aside

I waded into the river

Scooped it up in my hands

And washed my face with this holy water

Let the rain

Let the Mekong

Wipe away scars in my heart

If this life has to be cut short

Let it be known

I love this land more than life itself

And if my kids have to wade in her again

Let them know

Their dad is of this river

Let you touch their hearts

For all my dreams

Your dreams

Live in here

The way my dad's dreams lived in me

And his dad in him

All the way down

To our great great-ancestors

9.26.03

Here is the continuation of a series 'Coming home' entitled 'What a beauty to behold'

Hakphaang,

It was said

The women carry the country identity

On their shoulders

There was nowhere else more obvious

More pronounced than at Muang Lao

Here Lao women

Or even little girls

Wore sinh the symbol of Lao identity

With pride and dignity

The way Sinh hangs on their bodies

Speaks volume of how far

They've gone through

Other dresses

Great as they may be

Prestigious as they may look

Lao women left them aside

They come to wear Sinh

To make a statement

They are not ashamed

Of who they are

Of their root

With my head bowed

I saluted all Lao women

Wearing Sinh at work

At school at home

And anywhere

Not the least

I salute

The Lao little girls

Wearing their worn out Sinh

As joyfully as they can be

If only Lao women of the past

Could come back and see their offspring

They would be beaming with admiration

The enemies whoever they may be

Have failed

Their chain just couldn't keep Lao women

From manifesting what is theirs

With Lao women in Laos as an anchor

Supported interestingly

By Lao women descendants in Isan

Sinh is now spreading its wing

Among Lao women abroad

One day

I will be able to see my daughter

Wearing Sinh

The way her mother does

When that day arrives

The circle will be complete

And I will then close my eyes

And sleep in peace

For I will have seen

My part contributed

To the preservation of KhuamPenLao

9.26.03