By Betsy Schaffer
a baby girl dressed in
traditional hanbok
cheered on by family
to pick from items
that seal her destiny
money for wealth
thread for long life
pencil for academia
rice for food and shelter
looking around she
grabs the only thing
she wants
her mother’s hand
as it moves away
double-take
there’s something
about the thickness
of the nape of
his neck
and the way
his neck holds
his head
that reminds me
of my little brother
found alone
tongue wedged
in his throat
tears
the tears of adoptees
fill the Han River
tears of disbelief
at being seen as
ungrateful for
wanting to know
our own birthright
tears of anger
at being seen as
less important
than the privacy of
faceless birthparents
tears of sadness
at being seen as
pitiful aliens
by the country
that exported us
the Han River
will never run dry
Copyright
© Betsy Schaffer. All
rights reserved.
Betsy Schaffer works with numbers, reads, writes, and ponders her life’s purpose. She was born in Seoul, Korea and her given birthday is January 1967. She arrived to her adopted parents in January 1970. Her poetry is published in More Voices: A Collection of Works from Asian Adoptees, Yeong and Yeong Books.
