Hangul Abecedarian

Genghis Khan, my father says, using a soft G,

Never saw our peninsula with his own eyes.

Don’t quote me on that—

Recall isn’t my strong suit. I’ve convinced myself

Memorizing dates, for example, is outmoded.

Better to learn the overall movements,

Social conventions rising and falling,

Empires and their changing mascots.

Genghis sired so many, they say, his children’s

Children’s children’s genes sowed an entire

Continent of grasslands. If  you press your ear

To my blood’s topography, you’ll hear hooves

Pounding, though I can’t remember when it started, or

Whose king it is coming in the distance.