Destiny

Her grandfathers are worshiped in temples
for conquering Nanking in 1937.

She learned at school that the Chinese
invented stories to make the Japanese look bad.

Her mother scrubbed floors on all fours
waiting for her father to return from bars.

She deposited three little prayer tablets
into a stone Buddha, to atone for abortions.

Her boyfriend dreamed of sleeping
with a tall blonde clad in black leather.

She worked several jobs to pay
for a surgeon to stitch back her virginity.

Her parents chose a man their own age.
She wed him in a brocade white gown.

She pretends not to notice her husband's
collection of child pornography.

She teaches her son how to fold a paper
crane, shadow of snow against sunset.

Winter Fish

                   Her screams ran like hunted children crying
           “Mother!!!” His fist landed on her face. She stopped
       sharp, as if her throat was cut. In the mirror, blood in her
  right eye. He told her she imagined it. Here is what happened.
  He tells her. A man slaps a woman, and she thanks him. A black
  and white movie he saw. The quiet gay couple next door, what
  they must think. What if they call the police. She watches the
           sun extinguish itself in tall trees. Spring moon hangs low,
               a lit fish bowl. Dark tails beat against the glass wall.