Mining the Land

Taking only a millisecond, 

a farmer in Siem Reap, 

will change the course of the lives 

of both him and his family forever.

It’s not like in the movies, 

I was told. No, in the movies, 

you first of all, hear a ‘click’, 

and once you hear the ‘click’

the thoughts of a trillion stars flash 

before your eyes - then BOOM!

You are either dead 

or, you have had limbs blown right away from their bones.

Landmines.

Forty years after the hate recedes,

after enemies recoil to lick their wounds, 

after the rebuilding of a nation -

life goes on.

The farmer, however,

plays a personal lotto with life, 

treading hopefully to avoid the remaining 

500,000 to 2,000,000
landmines waiting to be discovered.

I guess, 

they can be thankful of one tiny luxury, 

unlike the movies, it’s instantaneous, 

there is no click!

Reviews

[emmajoy]

An extraordinary poem, beautifully put yet holding the foulest of atrocities - the invisible slaughter of innocents unexpectedly and in the bloodiest of ways. Death flies its colours at any enemy's hands, yet landmines are still a great crimson blot in Humanity's book. Tis true that those landmarks are still lying, festering techno, years after in Cambodia AND, elsewhere. Tis essential that organisations such as that initiated by the late Princess Diana and now supported by her son, Prince Harry, remain determined to eliminate this evil past in the would be recovering present.

Superbly and sincerely posted. Thank you.

[Valentine]

Sadly this is happening in other parts of the world too. When will people stop and just enjoy peace in the place they inhabit. Valentine

[Daisy]

Awesome.. Thanks for introducing me to the knowledge of such bravery.. Siem Reap! Your poetry smells of the past struggles and violence in a such lyrical justice.
This has awakened me to a such a different perspective of Life.. And yes like u mentioned Life goes on..
Great read. Thanks!

[KWP]

Hey There - thanks so much for taking the time to really read an absorb this piece ... much appreciated - so are your thoughts. Cheers X

[Daisy]

Pleasure ! U are much inspiring :)

[andrew mitchell]

Weapons to cause maximum damage or death while he has to support his family is a very brave man. Its terrible what goes on today!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

damn this is scary...no click, just an explosion...

and this lotto is one he does not want to win---

he hopes his ticket doesn't click.

[KWP]

Scary indeed Jacob ... Can you even imagine ... Nice to see you X

[Deuces]

Wow. I'd say this was definitely an educational piece. I had to check out the background of Siem Reap and re-read the poem. It's amazing that decades after, one can feel the residuals of past violence. This reminded me of a story I saw on Investigation Discovery (my favorite channel) in which a man who was renting a house decided to go through the boxes in the garage, left by past tenants. The man found what was what he thought to be a fake grenade and consequently killed himself after engaging the pull pin.

This poem and that story serve as a powerful analogy that intention never truly dies. Life goes on, but be watchful of the intention in which you create anything, as it can linger and affect the innocent one day.

[KWP]

Hey again - thanks for checking this out and I'm glad it passed on the meaning in which you retrieved ... X

[Einstein Noodle]

sobering ... not the norm for my daily thinking processes ...i can't imagine the game played putting plow to ground ... had to look up Siem Reap ... says a lot that there is a Landmine Museum there .. and i read that one man had (at print time) removed 50k mines ... all i can think of is my kids .. how freely they played in our small town USA :(
E.
ps hi KW! nice to see you posted :))

[KWP]

The man you read about is probably the Cambodian partner of the ex American Soldier I met when I visited the Landmine Museum. He (the Cambodian) and his wife saw first hand the atrocities the land mines were causing and they set about 1. Setting up a museum to gain international aid and 2. A system of clearing the mines (not an easy task) and foreigners are allowed to help, but not actually clear the mines. The Cambidian was in America and he asked the ex sergeant if he would assist him in setting this up in Cambodia - the American and his wife never looked back. They live there now. She teaches in a local school and he does everything, and I mean everything from raising money, awareness, giving tours of the museum, helping street kids, going out to help with the mine recovery (although not active) - man he was so passionate. He really left a lasting impression. And then he said to my boys 'so when you finish school, remember, there are plenty of other things you can do in life instead of focussing on money' ahhhh .... Love him.

And yeah E nice to be hanging around X lovely to see you X

[Einstein Noodle]

i think i can safely say that you and your boys will not forget the meeting ...the dedication is admirable to be sure ... peace, joy and hugs :)