Leuk Lao Poem by Bryan Thao Worra

We meet on the road
But once and I cannot tell you

In the time we have:
'We are one.'

'What's left, what survived, what remains
Of old dreams, old wars, old loves.'

We share atomic lives:

Small, brief, unpredictable orbits,
Curious flurries of motion and smiles.

Who you become after I go,
I can only guess

Except by the photos
Of occasional touring strangers

In which I watch you grow,

While you remember an eye,
A camera, a wave goodbye.