I am from bamboo chopsticks
From rice crackers and aloe vera drinks.
I am from the “adventure path”
Small, dirty
It looked like a dead forest.
I am from the palm tree bushes,
The sugar cane sticks
That I only got twice a year.

I’m from extreme holidays and eyeglasses
From Di Ling, ông, and Bá.
I’m from couponers and chefs
Yatman, Family Feud and Jazzy-Mono.
I’m from the Bread and Body
With Vietnamese Mass
And a couple of Vietnamese prayers.

I’m from the terrace rice farms and a Nguyen family tree
Pho and dried squid.
From the time my mother chased my uncle with a butcher knife
And the four fingers ông is missing.

In the depths of my closet,
A big large bin
Neatly aligned albums
To keep the monsters company.
I am from new beginnings and fresh starts –
Lost in the ways of life,
Buried under a sea of expectations.