["My father does his own dental work"]
My father does his own dental work.
A power drill and epoxy
and steady hands—
On Christmas Day, he mistook
the Macy’s star
for the Viet Cong flag.
While watching
Forrest Gump, he told me
how he too carried a friend.
He squeezed
around my throat so tight,
I thought I’d die with him.
Copyright Credit: Cathy Linh Che, "[My father does his own dental work]" from Split. Copyright © 2014 by Cathy Linh Che. Reprinted by permission of Alice James Books.
Source: Split (Alice James Books, 2014)