Sweating in our garden
that the Phams have turned into little Vietnam
ringed in rake and tool wood fences, a plastic pool
of spinach plants, two dogs begging for food.
Crab, blowfish and roasted clam are on the table..
Hai draws with his fingers the "S"
that separated the houses of his family
in the country of his birth:
The snake shaped river where
they lived on the banks,
gave them silver sweetness and turtles for supper.

His Cousins live now, next street down on
Saint Louis.
His Aunt who has cancer lives one block south,
on Hollywood.

And his wife Nhung tells how she gave birth
to their daughter on the boat to the refugee camp
where they lived until they came to the United States.

There are three fathers present: Hai, Nhung's Father, and
her little brother whose wife is pregnant again.
"That is how it should be: family together."

They tell us to eat more and smile
when I say," this is the longest day of the year,
beginning of summer."
And what happens after? They ask.
"It gets a little darker each day."
"How sad!" They say, "But we have today."

MaryAnn Bennett Rosberg, M.A. is a published poet, a novelist, and editor. She is also a Reiki master, NLP practitioner, and certified teacher of the Human Capacities Training Program of Drs. Jean Houston and Robert Masters. MaryAnn attends a Mystery School in New York where she deepens into the world myths that greatly influence her poetry. For more information: http://www.americanatheneum.com/pages/maryannrosberg/mr-master.html