Baby Selene

Though you are not here,

Your presence is felt.

From the moment we met,

You’ve been a friend.

More than once we changed addresses,

Our friendship didn’t end.

Today I hold your grand-baby,

The first you won’t see.

I imagine your laugh,

As pride swells inside you.

You touch her soft hair,

Which is black as coal.

You kiss her wide eyes,

Which intensely gaze at you.

A doting grandma you’d be;

You whip out a magic wand.

And she’d be draped in laces,

Frilly dresses, of pink and white.

She gurgles her delight,

You respond in kind.

I call her a princess,

You nod in approval.

What a beautiful baby,

Basked in radiant love.

You whisper ‘Selene,’

Her name sounds so sweet.

Collage #30

I, The Beautiful Angel of Ngoại,

Have the most beautiful smile.

And I display it well

When things go right, of course.

My brother can show off his skills

In the pool and on his bike.

He can charm people with his prowess.

All I have to do is smile.

My brother likes to flash his sword

To uncle Zach and cậu Thal.

He thinks he’s a knighted Superman.

All I have to do is smile

My brother likes to wear his dragon helmet,

Jump into the pool, and dive to its bottom

To retrieve rings and get applauded.

All I have to do is smile.

Sitting in my float and wearing a cool swim cap,

I am being trained at an early age.

To hide a competitive streak that runs in the family,

All I have to do is smile.

My brother likes to hold me.

He shows his affection with lots of kisses.

He thinks I’m the sweetest girl on earth,

Until I beat him in the swimming game, maybe.

One-hundred-word Snippet - Chè

I was choosing various chè desserts to buy when my brother called from another city. I told him I had a hankering for chè and needed to concentrate on my shopping. Afterwards, I stood in line to pay. The line was long and it moved slowly. In the end, I left without buying. Months later, we got together, my brother and I. He told me he went out to get chè after we talked. He became hungry for it during our talk. He was the one who got to eat chè, I was the one with the hankering. Not fair.