To Lou
By John Zheng
 

—Leo Touchet’s Lucien E. Conein, 1919-1998, #0708

Wherever we are, we share

the same sky, same earth,

same stars and stripes.

We met first in Saigon,

laughed and joked as if

the world was nothing

but a cue ball we hit

in our pool game. Once

I asked you in a dream if

we could gather again,

drink and eat in Saigon’s

La Casita, and you,

squinting one eye,

answered with a grunt:

I’m at rest. Forever.

I drove over to see you

in Arlington, taking pictures

as my final salute.