by Shana Huang
Is the Taishanese term
for grandma,
Mom’s mom.
Pópó worked at China Grove,
a restaurant
on gold.
There, my Pópó prepared
delicious
jade dishes,
like burgers and noodles,
that servers
savor.
After hours with friends
among midnight
starlight.
Atop concrete and leather,
any weather,
resting.
Pópó, not unlike nonna,
Abuelita,
Grandma,
journeyed to America,
starting in
a new world.
Beginning not unlike
the first Chinese
Americans,
who built roads of sorrowful steel,
mining coal and
hoping,
Dreaming of their loved ones
far away
each day.
Wishing for prosperity
for the ones
left behind.
For the ones on rustling grass
a place where
Pópó was.
Where her journey began
when she
traveled.
