Negotiating Peace (Poem)

I want us to stand
Hand in hand
Looking up
A pre-arranged agreement
Intuitively conjured up

And I want us to sing
Brim with emotion as
The tunes tumble out
With caution and abandon
In turns, it turns out

I'm unwilling and unable
To engineer a sneeze
I cultivate the soothing talent
Of putting myself at ease

Saigon recalled the strict sensibility
Unequivocal obedience, masking all fragility
A red flag or banner, never far from sight
The Western visitor will not be right

But the formerly Communist child
Has found a Western home
And, sure: I feel I don't belong
Yet I'm singing therapeutic songs

Embodying the right to breathe
Experiencing every piece of me
From my scalp to my heel
Feeling what I need to feel