As I prepare to return to Vietnam, I found this exquisite poem by Do Mguyen Mai who is from California.
Unanswered by Do Nguyen Mai
After Joshua Nguyen
Em ơi,
don’t look back
when my spine snaps
against the cold click
of the trigger,
when my lungs flood
with the fullness
of the night sky,
when my body drops
headfirst
when the ocean folds
its palms over my chest,
when my ribcage whistles
with the waking shore,
when the water ripples,
when the boat tips over,
when I become the sea
swelling beneath your swaying ship –
em ơi,
I will carry you
to shore.
Do, Mai N. (2019) “Three Poems: Charges Against a Newborn; Unanswered; For the First Generation,” Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement: Vol. 14 : Iss. 1 , Article 3. DOI: 10.7771/2153-8999.1183 Available at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/jsaaea/vol14/iss1/3