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grandparents

who made my life possible:

To my grandparents - My grandparents are perhaps some of the strongest people I will ever encounter. Though they have all experienced so much in their lives–the Korean War, the aftermath of the violence, the hardships of relationships, abusive parents, and many unfulfilled hopes, they have made it a conscious (or maybe unconscious) decision to only show me so much undeserved, unconditional understanding and love. No words, no pictures, no art could ever encapsulate the pain they had to go through, pain that I will never truly fully understand, for my life to be possible. 


Thank you, for shaping the ugly so I could have good.

Image by Daniel McCullough

the Chuns

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A borderless land it used to be
But no longer on that fatal day 
And thus the move to the south 
Began
hard fast

No time to think 
No time to die
Only time to survive 

We try again and again
Desperate sisyphean we are
14 years old
And head of the household 

NEWSPAPERS AND COINS

And they turn us away
We try again
Checkpoints 

and lost childhoods

Make it through 
Ugly to good we hope
Not
Yet

Past the borders
A self-made man 
Arose from the ashes 
From newspapers and coins

 

Image by Chanas

the Yis

Image by Zoe Fitzgerald

Wildflowers
Winter storms we’re leaving behind
Greeted by wildflowers dancing in the wind
In the middle of winter
California, America we landed

            Living all together
            Finding work 
            Starting all over again
            Rocky soil our feet sunk in 

                        Working with my kids
                        Hurting hearts, hurting pride
                        Cleaning and wearied
                        Feet forming into baby roots

                                     Winter storms in our hearts
                                     Sun rages on 
                                     A rainbow appears
                                     Sprouting into buds 

                                                  Wildflowers we’ve grown into
                                                  Freedom we’ve embraced
                                                  Lives we’ve created

   

California, America we are.

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