Poetry by Chelsey Trần Dinh

Edited by Mia Brixey

con thương mẹ, nhưng mà
i love you, but…

sometimes i wonder how
my life could have been
if she was more like me.

not everything has to be a struggle,
you’ve achieved the dream,
you’re safe now.

resenting her couldn’t be helped.
was it the teenage angst
that was so commonly referred to in
American society/culture/media?

but knowing about this concept
did not aid
did not benefit
did not protect me.

American concepts cannot be
translated/explained/conveyed to
immigrant mothers.
//
sometimes i wonder how
my life could have been
if she was more like me.

everything is and will be a struggle,
the dream is achieved when i see you succeed,
do not speak too soon.

resenting her couldn’t be helped.
was it the harshness of my parenting
that i only knew and experienced from
my own childhood/parents/mother?

but knowing about this cycle
did not aid
did not benefit
did not protect me.

the immigrant experience cannot be
told/described/passed down to
American-born daughters.

mẹ thương con, nhưng mà
i love you, but…