counting the countless dead

running through the jungle
hands and knees on a hard tunnel floor
a man without an arm and missing an eye
kept looking for the long lost war
with time passing inside his head
counting the countless dead
he held tightly to his dream
while
i kept hearing a dark haired woman scream
red dragon fruit dying on her hand
balls of jellied fire hanging in the Buddhist sky
like napalm burning fertile land
with time passing inside her head
counting the countless dead
she pointed strangely at the night
while
a city exploded almost completely out of sight
mountains of dust and incessant traffic noise
of motor scooters anxious to please
millions of hungry young girls and boys
with time passing inside their head
counting the countless dead
while
steady rains wash away the blood
of black boots and rice paddy faces
the tall towers of new concrete and steel
disguising all former traces
with time passing inside my head
counting the countless dead.