poem . Love has no borders
Buddhist monk in Preah Vihear ancient temple ruins famous landmark in north Cambodia. ID 105051361 © Jackmalipan, Dreamstime.com
LOVE HAS NO BORDERS
Sophea Heang, July 2025
A thousand shots fired
still peace lives on
it is a voice that breathes
in you and me
there's a river
inside love it's alive sees past us all and itself
children of Kampuchea, we see you
we hear you.
you are hurting from the wounds
that were not visible until now
the mouth of the river kisses
your scars and leads you back home
your tears drip into a clear stream that sees
the past like these rocks big and small, brown, white
grey holding up the mirror so you can finally
see yourself again
water flows translucent baby's skin just ten days old
when he or she left home
to live under a blue tent in an open field
looking up to a pale clear sky
palms pressed together sitting on the
wings of white doves
we commemorated the 50th year
anniversary of the Cambodian genocide
that took away our elders so much
of our history, heritage and culture
never again!
We see you
your faces will also
be sculpted by the fingers of Kampuchea
where nature reigns
Who wins in wars
that tear children from
the arms of their mothers'
forever?
from where Phnom Dangrek
touches Ursa Major and down to the
anvil of earth where roots keep us together
don't be afraid!
it doesn't matter if you were born on Khmer soil or
in a new land
you were a baby born under stars
that fuel human breath
forces of ammunition
can't withstand the heat of this fire
it's okay if your heart is breaking
and you're trying to find the words
to explain the hurt and the pain
No! No! No more wars! your unspoken words still reverberate in fire
smoke that blast through human flesh
it takes their
last breath
the ghosts of war wander stepping
over these memories
Go to where peace is buried
step over the shadows of conflict
Go inside yourself
sit beneath those clouds that form
above Phnom Dangrek where peace
lives below and above the boundaries
of war zones that shatter the human spirit
tear men, women and children from
their villages
You are seen with eyes
that cleanse the lies.
Sophea Heang's works copyright © to the author.
SParks through arts: igniting sparks from within
welcome sourm ska vomស្កាវំSophea Heang is a second-generation Cambodian-Canadian spoken word poet and writer who enjoys collaborating with
other artists such as musicians and visual artists. She’s also co-founder of Angkor Harvest, a Cambodian food purveyor serving the hallmarks of authentic Cambodian cuisine.
She wrote a poem, titled, “Walking into Khao-I-Dang, for the Hearts of Freedom exhibit inauguration in Vancouver, in 2023. HOF is a Canadian Southeast Asian Historical Research Project (https://heartsoffreedom.org). Sophea recently performed, " Walking into-Khao-I -Dang" again at Roots of Compassion, Cambodian Cultural Centre's inaugural event that commemorated the 50th year anniversary of the Cambodian genocide and celebrated Cambodian Memory, Resilience and Artistry.
Sophea is completing her first book, Remember me in Stillness, a prose and poetry memoir-a creative inquiry into the inter-generational genocide experience of Cambodian-Canadians who arrived in Canada in the 1980’s. The work is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Her poem, Inside Heartwood, will be published in Canadian Literature in 2026, in the special issue 261, Swirling into a Field of Life: Works in Conversation with Y-Dang Troeung.
Sophea will be a reader for Pandora Collective’s Free Verse program, at Word Vancouver on September 20th, 2025. Free Verse seeks to bring the voices of incarcerated writers from Mission Medium (men) and Fraser Valley (women) institution to the Vancouver community to a public presentation of their writing to leverage the power of storytelling, build empathy and community.