America
A place where the Vietnamese
long for, where citizens
can criticize Obama,
protest health care,
and fight for equality.
Where students
take education for granted,
and where dreams have possibilities.

Vietnam
A place where some Vietnamese
wish they weren’t, where citizens
struggle to have three meals a day,
shantis built of straw become their home,
education is
nothing
but a bare table,
and where dreams are lacking.

Two different worlds collide
to make me


ONE

I am an Asian American.
Living in a world filled with lies,
cultural rules that clash with those around me,
and can’t be lived up to.
Parents that don’t understand my reality,
and dreams that can’t be reached.
Trying to make it in America.
Trying to make a difference in
two worlds.