The Kind Young Man with the Shy Smile
Jen Ashburn
-After Yona Harvey
WOMEN America much power says
in have he
driving his van over red-clay roads
carefully the of Laos
have power
Woman much
his uncle in Hawaii
who lives told him
IF man
a
hits the police come
his wife will Woman
have
power
The van driver to drive these roads
whom I paid
has
a wife
a pregnant wife a four-year-old
and daughter
He nice me the men are nice me
is to All in Laos to
He drives carefully talks rice
and about harvesting
with his
family
He waits patiently I take photos
while and think
this who his wife?
Is a man hits
He waits patiently I take Pia Vat temple
while photos of
destroyed 1968
which we (Americans) in except
Buddha statue charred black
for a stubborn a resilient
ask wife
I cannot about his
Why don’t marry over noodles
you he asks
In Laos alone
you cannot live he says In Laos
family
is
everything.
Jen Ashburn recently completed her MFA at Chatham University in poetry and creative nonfiction. She has work published or forthcoming in Grey Sparrow; Pretty Owl Poetry; Anak Sastra; The Poet’s Billow; Puff Puff Prose, Poetry and a Play Vol. II; and the anthology Make Mine Words (Trinity University Press). She lives in Pittsburgh.
