This poem was sent to me by Gabriel Rosenstock, who lives in Dublin. It’s based on a recent essay of mine entitled Of Class Rings, Bone Fragments and Fish Ponds: the Interminable Search for US MIAs in Vietnam published on 21 May 2021 by CounterPunch. Look below for information about Gabriel and his work, including links to his Wikipedia entry and his latest publication.
The Americans spend over $100 million a year in search of soldiers missing in action. Most of the search for MIAs occurs in Southeast Asia. Gabriel Rosenstock’s short poem in Irish and English focusses on one such recovery mission.
Ar Iarraidh i gComhrac
73 míle taobh theas de Hanáí
a thángthas air
Ní féidir a bheith ag súil le mórán
in aeráid thrópaiceach
50 bliain tar éis do dhuine
a bheith ar iarraidh i gcomhrac
I dtóin linn éisc a thángthas air
Is beag a bhí fágtha de dáiríre
Fáinne pósta.
Missing in Action
73 miles south of Hanoi
is where they found him
You can’t be hoping for much
in a tropical climate
50 years after someone goes
missing in action
They found him
at the bottom of a fish pond
There wasn’t much of him left if the truth be told
A wedding ring
Gabriel Rosenstock is a poet, haikuist, tankaist, novelist, translator, short story writer, essayist and playwright. His latest bilingual volume of tanka is Secret of Secrets.
Podcast Version (Thank you, Gabriel!)
Shalom (שלום), MAA
An International Educator in Viet Nam 
As a fan of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, I saw the movie as a child and had no idea what the mission was about because I couldn’t understand English at the time. Your poem now beautifully unravels the story, and what I love most about it is the simplicity of your diction.
Thank you, Adjei. I’ll share your comment with Gabriel.
MAA