Birthday — Euisun Hong
There is sorrow in the way
you line your eyes against tomorrow
that narrow vision of poetry.
You’ve forgotten the words for
I love you and thank you for the meal
and please take the day off, Mother.
Unbeknownst to you, she’s cleaned the floors
this past month with nothing but your poetry.
While you spend the evening crying
alone in your room, your mother
misses her son.
She brings you the food:
Kimchi weeping red on a platter.
Rice, steaming and white.
Euisun Hong is a junior from Pleasanton, California. An alumnus of the Kenyon Review Young Writers’ Workshop, his work has been recognized by the Scholastic Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Outside of poetry, Euisun is also an avid violinist and chess enthusiast.