Later, in “Notebook Fragments,” the narrator expresses confusion caused by his Vietnamese roots: “In Vietnamese, the word for grenade is ‘bom,’ from the French ‘pomme,’ / meaning ‘apple.’ / Or was it American for ‘bomb?’” “The Gift” elaborates on this turmoil while the speaker’s mother teaches him to write the only three letters of English she knows, “the pencil snaps. “Immigrant Haibun” unfolds as the narrator and his family travel across the ocean, escaping the war-torn city they once lived in above them, stars symbolize the promise of safety like “little centuries opening just long enough for us to slip through.” This experience serves as a reminder of the perilous journeys many refugees and immigrants have endured throughout history. In his poems, Vuong also draws from his family’s experience with immigration and the cultural divides stemming from his origins.
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