I video call my mother late at night
(roughly noon on her side of the Earth)
to tell a story or some joke that might
provoke her ringing laugh; this sound of mirth
transports me to the evening walks and rides
that took us anywhere I’d want to be.
The boundless turquoise ocean that divides
can be bridged by our shared memories.
Her voice breaks, “Would you mind repeating that?”
I ask her when the crackling noises fade.
And when I try to joke about our cat,
her laugh arrives an awkward moment late.
“No battery left!” and then the screen goes black.
I wish her face would somehow flicker back.
Photo: Ketut Subiyanto (2020)
Poet Bio
Home?
Shanghai. What is home to you?
Home has been where I grew up. But as I figure out my post-college plans, I am searching for my future home.
Amy Yang is a California-born, Shanghai-raised writer and designer completing her senior year at Northwestern University in Illinois.