Elephant Ears and Bamboo Sticks: Vietnam War Collection (Human Error Publishing, 76 pp. $15, paper) is a book of 41 poems by VVA member and U.S. Air Force Vietnam War veteran Philippe R. Hebert, based on his experiences in Southeast Asia during and after the war.
None of poems appear to have previously been published in literary journals. They are not quite written in a poetic way – not many metaphors to be found in here – but do use the format of poetry to provide information.
What follows are some passages I enjoyed reading.
From “Ideology of Race”:
There are nights
and times
when at 3AM
sitting up alone
remembering and thinking
back about 50 plus years.
There was a war,
Southeast Asia was a hot bed
and anything could be had
but peace.
Stateside there was no war
but there was no peace either.
From “As old as dirt”:
Time doesn’t matter
cause every day’s like before.
Next day, grubbing for food
old men smoke dope
opium or hash.
Old women chew betel nuts
and bitch at old men.
There is no future here
cause they’ve already
sold their daughters
to a whore house
in Saigon.
The poem. “Twaz a Good Life” includes the myth of returning troops from the Vietnam War being spat on. No details, just the generalization.
The most truly poetic lines may be these from “Mangroves”:
The Nam
dances on tip toes
through the bamboo jungle
and musty earthy smell
And these from “Jade Green Bamboo”:
I won’t go back
I can’t go back
even a week of business
I can’t go back, even 50 years later
I might never return
because I was there
Again, last night.
And, finally, my favorite poem from the collection, “Veterans Day Sale”:
Vets day sale
buy one get one free
no thanks
I was already there
no thanks…I was really really there.
The best group of poems appear in the final chapter, “You’re No Longer Here!”
–Bill McCloud
Books in Review II 