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| The Children's Tet
- Crowds so thick on Tran Hung Dao
- they pass bicycles over their heads
- to get close to the student troupe
- acting the old story.
- The figure in black unmasked,
- the dragon slain, fireworks
- light up the river,
- traffic moves again.
- Tonight the children rule.
- In torch-lit packs
- hunch-backed dragons
- snake down streets,
- chasing drums follow.
- Who is head or tail
- will change as they charge
- into shops straight up
- into the world of their elders.
- Parents watch, not yet sure to
- be afraid.
- One boy's eyes search the crowd,
- he beats his chest in confusion, lost,
- but tonight he has no need for worry,
- tonight the city is filled with dragons.
River Music
- One by one the lanterns
- swim off down river.
- A green one first, then red
- and yellow. Each one calls
- back a friend. Like dancers
- they turn in circles.
- One for my wife, one for my son,
- one for our new child in spring.
- Back and forth they swing
- in twos and threes, seeking
- ever newer combinations.
- We drink rice liquor, toast
- ten reasons men fall
- in love on the river.
- The old men smile into their
- instruments.
- A woman sings, such beauty
- even the moon might die
- on her shoulder.
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