Burmese Days

In their dreams they are sleeping
The sweltering heat of the day
'Neath shimmering blue skies, above green pams
September clouds roll through the mind
Called by August nights
Late summer breeze
How I love these Burmese days

Through narrows streets, a martyr
Slowly she walks, slowly, to the pyre
Her song on the breeze
Stirring the unlit fires of their hearts
A tremendous light within
In the soul, beyond castle walls
In the heat of the day
'Neath shimmering blue skies
Called by August nights
How I love these Burmese days

Riotous human currents
Pluck the heartstrings
Touch the mind
The inner light, for all to see
Political struggle -their national jihad
'Neath shimmering blue skies
Heat of the day
Called by August nights
How I love these Burmese days

Cries above the silence
The offering bowl, full to the brim
Untouched, unpolished
Their fervor arisen
In the heat of the day
'Neath shimmering blue skies
Called by August nights
How I love these Burmese days

Fat Buddha watched the crowds go by
He stood at gunpoint, barrel against the neck
Cold steel on tanned skin
Heart thudding, the blood flowed faster
Tears of their mothers, fathers and songs
In the heat of the day
'Neath shimmering blue skies
Called by August nights
How I worry, these Burmese days

Shall you take me by the neck?
In a prison, confine my soul
Against the firing squad I stand
As Fat Buddha stares down
From temple walls
In the heat of the waning day
'Neath shimmering red skies
Called by August nights
How I worry, these Burmese days

This is not my ultimatum
Nor is it a lament by the roaring fireside
We kneel before the altar of the soul
Women weeping in the night
In the heat of the day
'Neath shimmering red skies
Called by August nights
How I worry, these Burmese days

Streets painted bright red
Fat Buddha still stares, an eternal Bodhisattva
Tears of their mothers, fathers and sons
Cradling the last lives
In the heat of the day
'Neath shimmering blue skies
Epitaphs mark where they stood
How I weep, these Burmese days

My memory is far away
The fire burns softly, this August night
The stars abound in heaven's expanse
On my mantelpiece, Fat Buddha stares down
In the cool of the night
'Neath star studded skies
How I miss those Burmese days