i. the book of life
the musty scroll
weighted with each stroke of each ancestor
lost during the Taiping Rebellion
no one remembers their name
my nai nai dug through Xiuning county for
an army lieutenant perished not of bullets but of dysentery
they gave his daughter a military
medal commending his honorable
death but lost his body
still no one remembers their name
ii. the blank page
pantomime my palms press
against the glass
her wrinkled face
my youthful one standing
separated by a windowpane.
I choke on blots of tears
“I love you” stuck in my throat
tomorrow I will not greet her
iii. story of Wang
my nai nai is a fiery
woman behind her paper skin
fire lies in the blue flame of water
only three drops
this is the surname wāng that replaced xiè
lineage dripping down through my blood
and yours, great-great-great grandchildren
the strength of three drops of water
Hanna Wang is a high school senior from Massachusetts. She is a member of The Current literary magazine and writes prose and poetry. In her free time, she enjoys baking patisserie-style recipes and binge-watching foreign language dramas.
Comments