Underwater by Kathy Nguyen
You must have seen the bowl
of the sky underwater
when you dove right in,
the cold and the pressure pressing
between the scaly folds, filling in the pores
of your skin,
the holes of your dark brown eyes–
water (over)took your anatomy
and became you, howling
and roaring in the seashells
of your ears.
You breathed in deeply,
meditating like a Buddhist monk,
hovering between the horizon and Vietnam,
letting the tides tumble over you,
bury you deeper and deeper
as you swam with the mermaids
and fish from the distant seas,
searching for the long lost dragon
of our last dynasty,
the missing piece/peace to crush fear and doubt
in wars of yesteryear.
A few generations have passed
and still the same thought bubbles resurfaced:
Did you collect colored rocks and corals
to build stepping stones between the sea
and heaven when you went down under?
Did you find the answers to beauty and love
among the starfish and stingrays scattered
like floating lily pads and pebbles on the ocean floor?
Did you gaze up lovingly at the night’s lantern
every lunar new year,
longing to return home to loved ones
who still wait for you,
cry out for you
with prayer beads in their hands?
It is that home you made me wonder
if I am old enough to make a pilgrimage to,
if I am strong enough to cast a net,
reel it in, and keep it like a prized fish,
if I am worthy to touch and shape–
just as you, like a sculptor,
using clay and rice, bamboo and hoa mai*,
and colors of spring and autumn
to sprinkle in generous amounts of accents to our songs
and mold it into a dragon–
born from the sea
and returning to the sea.
*The phrase “hoa mai” is the yellow apricot flowering plant in Vietnamese.
Kathy Nguyen goes by A~Lotus or Ambiguitylotus online. She has been writing poetry since 7-8 years old but seriously worked on it since high school. She loves not only looking for patterns and symbolism when it comes to writing poetry but also in every single connection, thing, and person in her life. She aspires to go to nursing school and get a doctorate degree and believes that everything happens for a reason, including using art for therapy (and for keeping sanity!) and as a form of expression as well as to complement her love for science. Website: http://alotus-poetry.livejournal.com
