Please think it over well–
if our home is enchanting and prosperous
why be fed up with Peace?
If the water in our pond is still transparent
please don't try to make it muddy;
do not litter it with trash,
and do not bathe in its waters.
It is true that fire is hot–
we all know it well;
we don't need tests to find that out–
it would consume our bodies for nothing.
Just because we are intellectuals
don't think that our enemies
don't want us to be annihilated,
don't want us to fall into the chasm of war.
O, intellectuals, don't trample the green prairies;
while the grass grows green, treasure it–
don't give yourselves medals
for laying it to ruin.
––U Sam Oeur, "May Peace Prevail in Cambodia," 1967
