[Poem] Gop Nyai

“Gop kin deaune” or

“The frog is eating the moon”

According to ancient Lao tradition.

Beyond our borders, it’s just a predictable eclipse.

Carl Sagan would hate our demon-haunted world.

Sagan has no use for the Lao Sung shaman near Phonsavan

Who panics when signs suggest Gop Nyai’s return

Because certain stars are right and dreams are strange.

If our legends are true,

Somewhere, between Champassak and Luang Prabang

Hidden deep in a primordial cavern near the Mekong

He slumbers,

An ancient entity ever dreaming hungrily,

An anuran astrovore, devouring stars and celestial bodies.

Perhaps he thinks to gain precious immortality.

To free himself from bonds of earth and mere reality.

Each time might be the last time, if not for humanity

Doing everything to dissuade fearsome frog ambition.

Towering above our lush jungles and hard mountains,

He’s selfish with his lunar appetites, an inconsiderate titan.

His true spawn are terrible to behold, hungry for man

In indifferent corners best left unknown.

He’s cowardly, despite his size, but over centuries
Not a single solution has put a final end to him.

So, men, women and children keep watching the skies,

Laughing nervously, trying not to take anything for granted.

Living loud and proud, to protect the cosmos, just in case.