This is the story my father tells
when the birth of his daughter makes his apartment
too small, at last, so he drives in circles
from house to house, looking for some sign of
the white-brick village
his father had built
for his sons,
two oceans away.
He does not know that
his daughter will grow up knowing
only English, but he will learn to
forgive her for it, to listen when she speaks
too fast.
She does not know that
her father will start losing his words
in the reverse order that he learned them, leaving
the Chinese untouched, but she will learn
not to test his accent against hers, to listen
when he speaks too slow.
This is the story my father tells
when he remembers his own childhood
home, where we scrape both sides of
the narrow walkways between one dry house and the next,
our arms stretched under the light
of the white-brick village
my father has built
for his daughter.
Belinda Huang is a sophomore WLP student who chose to pursue writing instead of music because of its relative stability as a career, a choice that has generally been regarded as somewhat optimistic. Her interests include the positive effects of literacy education and sushi, both separately and in conjunction.
when the birth of his daughter makes his apartment
too small, at last, so he drives in circles
from house to house, looking for some sign of
the white-brick village
his father had built
for his sons,
two oceans away.
He does not know that
his daughter will grow up knowing
only English, but he will learn to
forgive her for it, to listen when she speaks
too fast.
She does not know that
her father will start losing his words
in the reverse order that he learned them, leaving
the Chinese untouched, but she will learn
not to test his accent against hers, to listen
when he speaks too slow.
This is the story my father tells
when he remembers his own childhood
home, where we scrape both sides of
the narrow walkways between one dry house and the next,
our arms stretched under the light
of the white-brick village
my father has built
for his daughter.
Belinda Huang is a sophomore WLP student who chose to pursue writing instead of music because of its relative stability as a career, a choice that has generally been regarded as somewhat optimistic. Her interests include the positive effects of literacy education and sushi, both separately and in conjunction.