INTEGRATION

A Hmong boy,

born in the old country,

transplanted to this new land,

all he wanted to do

was run
& play soccer,

raise chickens

& organize cockfights,

roam the woods

& hunt squirrels, swimming

& fishing
in mountain lakes.

But life was quickly passing him by:

she was beautiful

and fading away.

She focused on school,

went to college,

got herself a career.

And if he wanted her

to wait for him

then he had to catch up quickly.

So he also went to college

and pretended to care

for the liberal arts,

experimented with the sciences,

and even tied a few metaphors

into complicated knots.

So she gave him a chance

and they settled down

to raise a family

that is not quite Hmong

and not quite

American,

And in his heart

he still dreams

of the wild mountains.