Again the shadows creep across the valley
In the distance, clouds burst on misty slopes
In the distance, clouds erupt in shades of pinks and reds

I stand between the mountains
An expanse of green stretching before and behind me
young rice newly planted.

Above, pulsating Vs of white move across the sky
Bands of egrets returning to their roosts in the tall grass
nesting down for the cool of the long night

As the sun slides behind the mountains
the call to prayer begins to echo
A beautiful cacophony of haunting voices
cascading through the valley
Reciting the same words, but without unity
The same invocation, but not quite in sync

Soon the egrets are gone and the light fades
In their place arise the silent silhouettes
Giant bats woken from their slumbering along the shores of the great lake
By the thousands taking to the night sky
in search of jungle fruits in dark and distant forests

In the remnants of dusk I walk home
Past the frogs croaking in the mud of the rice paddies
Past the crickets calling for their loves
Back to the little blue wooden house on the corner
And to my own sweet loves
waiting within