Vietnam War Memorial Poem by William Marr

A block of marble
and twenty six letters of the alphabet
etch so many young names
onto history

Wandering alone
amid the mass grave
an old woman has at last found
her only child
and with her eyes tightly shut
her trembling fingers now feel
for the mortal wound
on his ice-cold forehead

(1985, Chicago)

The Chinese version:

越戰紀念碑

一截大理石牆
二十六個字母
便把這麼多年青的名字
嵌入歷史

萬人塚中
一個踽踽獨行的老嫗
終於找到了
她的愛子
此刻她正緊閉雙眼
用顫悠悠的手指
沿著他冰冷的額頭
找那致命的傷口