Interstitial
Tell me about your parents.
Dainty, right? Is dainty the word?
How did they tell you they were sending you back?
Did it feel like a foreign country?
In what way did it feel like yours?
How was your Mandarin?
How long did it take you to learn?
Who did you like to read?
Did you also listen to Liszt?
The Great Men—did you meet them?
Did it seem real?
Any of it?
When did the dream collapse?
During the war,—
In the army,—
When the Japanese,—
After the war,—
During the Great Leap Forward,—
During the Great Famine,—
During the Cultural Revolution,—
When Mao died,—
Why didn’t you leave?
Did you ever try?
Did you sing that song about Baldy Chiang?
When was the last time you saw them?
When did you find out?
When did you know for sure?
Why didn’t you ever go to see your sister?
My uncles,—
Why did you choose my mother?
Did you ever regret it?
Do you ever ask questions to people who can’t answer?
Who do you speak to in the dark?