The war was budding outside
my home in Quảng Ngãi & everywhere.
I lived with Ông Ngoại because his daughter
didn’t want me.
For school, I owned one color
pencil, double-headed: red
& blue, so the white must have been somewhere
inside of me.
I sat in class until the 5th grade, so when my children pass
elementary, I’ll burst—the thrill of knowing
they’re smarter than me.