Nam

by

Frank X. Roberts

March 16, 1968 was a day of infamy for the American army in Vietnam and a day of unspeakable tragedy for the people of the Vietnam village of Mylai. Mention of that day in Mylai brings back, as it must, sad, bad and horrible memories not only for the people of Vietnam but also for the millions of others who were alive in the world at that time, and not least for those in the American military who were directly involved. But what happened in that place has now become part of the tragic history of war. That is what the following poem is about—the tragedy that war, any war, brings to both the innocent and the guilty. Lest we forget!

The sergeant was an S.O.B.
The lieutenant was insane,
But I did it for my country,
So I feel no pain.
 
(Time will wash me white as snow
In body, heart and brain.)
 
Patriotism is a worthy thing,
Admired from east to west;
For the scoundrel, says the critic,
It's a place of perfect rest.
 
(I talk all night in dim-lit bars,
To get it off my chest.)
 
Come with me, my own sweet love,
To the top of green Vermont;
There alone in the clean, clear air
We'll escape these specters gaunt
(I was under orders, don't you see?)
That in the thick air haunt.
 
Sun on broad banana leaves,
Split shafts in the gleaming sky,
A round brown face, a muddy ditch,
A soft, dark almond eye...
 
(A smashed-in skull and matted blood,
Till gibbering, I die!)

Editor's Note: Though the poem has nothing to do with books, reading or a related subject I am running it because Frank Roberts is a regular contributor to BiblioBuffet, and I was “one of those millions of others who were alive in the world at that time.” Though it's worthwhile reading—I wouldn’t have published it if it weren’t—this will be the only non-literary commentary you will ever see on BiblioBuffet. After all, our focus is on books and reading. And we're not deviating from that.

 
Frank’s extensive career in teaching and librarianship began when he taught English in the U.S. From 1961 to 1963, as part of a Columbia University program called “Teachers for East Africa,” he taught English and American Literature in East Africa. There he met his wife, Dorothy. They returned to the U.S. where he simultaneously taught and finished two Masters’ degrees, in Education and in Librarianship. In 1968 they returned to England where Frank taught Library Studies, and adopted Hodge, a cat who later traveled around the world with them. In 1972, Frank was “seconded” for two years to teach at Makerere University in Uganda, East Africa, but left reluctantly after one year when the tyranny of Idi Amin became intolerable. From there it was back to England, then Australia and finally  to America in 1979, to Buffalo where Frank earned his doctorate. Later they moved to Colorado, where he was Professor of Library Studies at the University of Northern Colorado until retiring in 1997. Frank published James A. Michener: A Checklist of his Work with a Selected Annotated Bibliography (Greenwood Press) in 1995. He has written on bookmarks, specifically on medieval bookmarks, his special area of interest. A poet by avocation, he writes eclectically but traditionally. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it