My father does his own dental work. …
Cathy Linh Che
Because the birds sculpted …
I looked brightness in the eye. …
She opened her mouth and a moose came out, a donkey, and an ox—out of her mouth, years of animal grief. I lead her to the bed. She held my hand and followed. She said, Chết rồi, and like that, the cord was cut, the thread snapped, and the cable that tied my mother to her mother broke. And now her eyes red as a market fish. And now, she dropped like laundry on the bed. …
I see my mother, at thirteen, …
The coal-dust hushed …
My father & I take turns …
Cue soundtrack. …