Land of Broken Promises by Jane Kuo

Author:Jane Kuo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

Prompt

I empty out my backpack

with its Pee-Chee folders.

Take out two halves of a Pink Pearl eraser,

three paper clips clinging to the front pocket,

a mechanical pencil,

root-beer-flavored ChapStick.

I throw away all the papers,

except for the prompt from Mrs. Matthews,

What America Means to Me.

I set the sheet of paper on top of my desk.

Oranges and Tea

The night before Ma leaves,

the apartment is filled with the scent of oranges

and chrysanthemum.

She takes a sip of tea, clears her throat,

and says, You know, words are cheap.

I think to myself,

Maybe that’s why she never says

I love you.

Ma keeps talking.

The problem with pretty stories is they’re not true.

Stories fill your head with all sorts of ideas,

and then all you’re left with is an empty stomach.

I know she’s telling me this

because she doesn’t want me to read at the store.

She thinks books are a waste of time.

She thinks they’re a distraction

from the real world,

and even though she’s talking to me,

she’s really talking to Ba.

He keeps a book of Tang dynasty poems

hidden next to the soda machine.

I tell her,

Okay, Ma, I won’t read at the store.

She nods, takes another sip of tea.

She’s done talking.

And I’m left wondering,

Is that it?

Because there’s so much more I want her to say.

I want her to tell me she’s proud of me,

that she’s going to miss me,

that’s she’s sad to be going away,

that everything will be all right,

yes, especially that everything will be all right,

that she’ll come back at the end of summer

and we’ll be able to pay the lawyer

and it will be okay.

Any of those things would be better than

words are cheap.

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