Observers. witnesses

when the flood that
washed the entire
the village came, they—
God bless them—
stood on their mountain
and watched as the
water swept the children
away.
when the fire that torched
the plantations scorched
the grains, they— God
bless their souls again—
gawked at the fumes
and sipped their palm wine.
may the people of the mount
know not the scorch of water
and the wetness of fire.

Younglan Talyoung