Self-portrait
By Thảo Đinh
Always double, triple, quadruple quadruple-check my to-do lists
Must not let my mind grabbled by hazy mist.
But
The place written for me lies not in dotted papers nor on social media
But
They are written on the stars and planets, on the Big Dipper, and on Mars.
I have predictions for the future though I’m far from wise.
“Everything will turn out alright-” everything has its price.
Yes, I’m an optimistic nihilist and a realistic romantic
I don’t trust the Queen of England, but I do believe in the magic of tea.
I know what it’s like to delve down a bottomless pit of suffocating void
While grappling on a thin thread of hope to find the Polaris
Which I always have. And I always will.
My happiness I can point to on a map, in the middle of Southeast Asia
Where I find healing and childishness in adulthood scars
Soulful and colorful home-cooked meals with my family
In the capital of a dragon-shaped country
Called Việt Nam.
The Trinity Review 