The Lotus Seed by Garland Sherry

Author:Garland, Sherry [Garland, Sherry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2015-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

When the lotus blossom

faded and turned

into a pod,

Bà gave each of

her grandchildren

a seed

to remember her by,

and she kept one

for herself

to remember the emperor by.

I wrapped my seed

in a piece of silk

and hid it

in a secret place.

Someday I will plant it

and give the seeds

to my own children

and tell them about the day

my grandmother saw

the emperor cry.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

For centuries, emperors ruled Vietnam with absolute power because the people

believed they were messengers from heaven and all-wise. One emperor built

a magnificent palace on the River of Perfumes in the city of Hue, surrounded

by majestic mountains. Modeled after the famous Forbidden City in Peking,

China, it was a city within a city, filled with fantastic gardens and orchards and

surrounded by lotus-filled moats. Elaborate gates and graceful bridges crossed the

moats to the part of Hue where the ordinary citizens lived.

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