凤凰 [resilience]

cramped in a boat, my grandparents

struggle to find space, for everyone

is trying to get out of the mess that is

1920s China—the king has just been

overthrown; his kingdom smashed into

a thousand pieces like a porcelain bowl

falling from its glory; the two sects of China

have gone into war, shooting cannons

and taking blood from their relatives,

yet there go my grandparents, unscathed

and free from the hurricane, starting

once again in an unfamiliar world,

rising from the challenge like a phoenix

spreading its wings and soaring, shining

its golden feathers for all the world to see