Poetry

Henry Huynh

By

Ken W Simpson

A Rough Ride in Vietnam

The bus to Saigon

was three hours late

for the jolting

seven hour ride

over potholed roads

constantly tooting

meandering motorcyclists

passing by vestiges of jungle

thatched and rusty shacks

while a large TV

blasted a comedy routine

as we squeezed past trucks

and helmeted riders

with pretty girls in shorts

as pillion passengers

until we finally arrived

gliding apathetically

like somnambulists

through the endless

enigmatic city streets.

Whispers of Neglect

A line

empty of words

waits for a thought

nervous and uncertain

trying to fit in

to look attentive

while others joke

about the shape of sorrow

as moments

self-consciously pass

in pursuit of profundity

along random paths

by fields of folly.

The Evolution of a Moment

A glimpse of secular bliss

sitting next to me

behind a fragile facade

detouring around doubts

a replica of reality.

Ken W Simpson

An Australian poet whose latest collection, Patterns of Perception, was published by Augur Press (UK) in January 2015. He lives with his family at Lysterfield, a Melbourne suburb, in the state of Victoria.