*a poem By Hauntie from May Yang, May Yang is a first-generation Hmong American artist, writer, and ethnographer from California. Writing under the persona “Hauntie,” she is the author of To Whitey and the Cracker Jack (Anhinga Press, 2017), which won the 2016 Robert Dana Prize in Poetry. I am so, so, so, so grateful for my friends.
That I could be this human at this time
breathing, looking, seeing, smelling
That I could be this moment at this time
resting, calmly moving, feeling
That I could be this excellence at this time
sudden, changed, peaceful, & woke
To all my friends who have been with me in weakness
when water falls rush down my two sides
To all my friends who have felt me in anguish
when this earthen back breaks between the crack of two blades
To all my friends who have held me in rage
when fire tears through swallows behind tight grins
I know you
I see you
I hear you
Although the world is silent around you
I know you
I see you
I hear you