The war is coming.

Watching your grandparents packing.

Holding your brothers hand.

Leaving your childhood home.

Running through jungles with no shoes.

Listening popcorn popping in the air.

Being chased by tall men with toys that can hurt you.

You are holding your grandmother’s hand,

Rushing through the dark roads leading you to safe land.

BOOM!

Your head starts to spin,

Wiping off the red blood away from your eyes.

You look for your grandmother,

She is sleeping on the ground,

You shake her to wake up

She whispers to your ears,

“Go follow your brother, quickly!”

Listening to her words.

You quickly turned and

Ran with fear in your eyes.

Jumping into the water,

Holding onto the floating bamboo,

Kicking as hard as you could to get to the other side

As you are getting bit by the fishes with teeth.

Climbing onto the land.

They reach for your hand.

You grabbed their hand.

They cover you with a dry towel.

They take you to a home

Where children likes to play,

And that’s when it started.

You were just a boy.

No Mother.

No Father.

No Sister.

But one brother.

Wondering around with no shoes,

No pants.

No shirt.

But one underwear.

With your strength and humor

Someone takes your hand leaving your brother.

Changing from a Thao to a Lor.

You have found your true family.

Caring you.

Feeding you.

They have always cherished you.

Waking up early in the morning

Carrying a huge basket with a garden hoe

Walking with sisters to the garden

Running around chasing mice

Catching fish

But after the fun

You have to go back to help clean

By removing the weeds and sticks.

All life until you’re 18,

You grow to stay at home

To make a living

But you want to explore

By following your sisters

Who all left to America

You follow them

Leaving the rest of your family

Coming to America

You saw new people.

People with different skin.

People with different vocabulary.

People with different class.

People with different culture.

Now that you’re in America,

Having a wonderful wife,
beautiful daughters,
and handsome sons.

You give them love,

You give them care,

You give them happiness,

You give them hope.

You give them your whole life

To not give up.

You have the eye of the tiger,

You are the male lion roaring,

Giving a speech about your children’s lives.
Saying those thoughtless words,
from your mind telling them

“What will you do for your future?
Without me,
You wouldn’t have a chance without
the opportunities I gave you in your life.”

They want you to have a good life,
an excellent job, and a good family that loves you.
Create a new future
To be able to have

More love,

More faith,
and believe in the wrong doings they do
because whatever you do,
They will always support you

For your words.

Hearing your guidance,
Gave your children the courage to believe
To get more chances to continue

What is there beyond the world.

Making a change.

Making a difference.

Making a vision.

For you before you close your eyes.