Right of way is established near
Phnom Penh by unmistakable road
markers: a discarded, soiled right shoe,
the top half of a battered human skull,
a battle scarred, rusted and bullet holed
helmet and the barrel end of a no longer
servicable small arms weapon pointing right.
A soldier taps the base of the skull
with a long white stick to see if it is mined
or perhaps he is moving the danger
warning signs, playing a game of calculated
misdirection, assuming all portent along
the highways to hell that is South East Asia
circa 1973 are real, more real and reliable
that anywhere else bushwhacking new trails
the enemy mine at night.