works by william pham, 2005-present

index | poetry | fiction

100x450 - 02 - if only he knew the truth

I traveled into the tropical forests searching for the Tree of Life. My brother lay dead, my sister, mother, and wife all dying; no one knew how much time they had left, and it was this uncertainty that was the heaviest burden of them all, even heavier than the painful coughs that wracked their bodies; each breath stabbed like a thousand needles, and the breath after, a thousand and one.

I did not find the Tree of Life. I found instead a marvelous plant with sap that tasted of honey. Small consolation for the four people dead in my home.

copyright (c) 2006 by william pham