Love Language
Before her 2nd shift
She stretches out her arms
Sighs
Then
gets up from bed. Almost immediately
The kitchen is covered with a smoky haze
Filling the nostril with
Caramelized pork belly
And jasmine rice. Across the table are
Bean sprouts,
green onions, and
Sriracha
For Mi Quảng later. Softly,
She calls
Honey go eat.
Those were the same words
I heard. After
I failed my driver’s test
After my 1st heartbreak
And after small
Disagreements. I’ve been told
There are 5 love languages
But
she’s taught me
there are six.
*
Contents of the Curriculum
the educator steps back
carefully observing the room
scanning every student
a kaleidoscope of cultures
his classroom
a symposium of sound
where students celebrate inexperience
and persist with gossip overhear:
Today, we’ll be going over Vietnamese literature.
is what the educator wanted to say.
instead, he lets out a sigh:
Today, we’ll be going over Catcher in the Rye.
*
Brandon Thein An Vu is an educator who holds an MA in Education from UC Davis and a BA from San Francisco State. He currently teaches in the Bay Area and has a cat named Raymond.
