by Steve Hellyard Swartz
where I taught
in Albany, New York
was comprised of the most collegial of enemy camps
Me and the Vietnamese
The Bosnians -
Serb and Moslem
Russians and Afghans
Isrealis and Egyptians
Jiro, from Colombia
said: I feel lonely
Who will be my enemy?
The nicest person in the class was Hung
A Black Vietnamese guy, 31
who worked long hours re-finishing furniture
His English was horrible but he never failed to smile at me
His Vietnamese friend Dung and he went halfies on an SUV
Through his pal, Hung managed to convey
that there had to be a way
Had to be some way
Mr. Steve you help Hung
Hung say
Help him please Mr. Steve
Hung bring wife to him
Wife and baby boy
From Vietnam to Albany
One day Hung just stopped showing up
His pals stopped coming, too
I asked the director of the Center
if she knew, had a clue
Don't worry about it, she said
We do as much as we can do
Steve Hellyard Swartz is a regular contributor to new verse news. His poems have also appeared in best poem, switched-on gutenberg, Haggard and Halloo, and The Kennesaw Review. He has won honorable mention in The Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards (2007 and 2008), The Mary C. Mohr and the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Awards. In 1990, his film, Never Leave Nevada opened at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
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