Interview
After immigration interviews on Angel Island
Poetry | Poetry Tuesday, poetry
May 10, 2022
May 10, 2022
1. What is your name? Other names?2. What is the name of the town you are from?3. Where is your mother
4. Buried? Your grandparents? Name the town5. Why did you what did you name your daughter?6. In your old house, in which direction did your windows face? North7. East? How many steps away is your house from your8. Neighbor count the steps. Give me a number the times you painted your9. House or carved words onto its side. What is your name in other names. Are you alien here10. To work skilled or unskilled? In Mandarin prisoner translates into11. one who is detained so the one who does the detaining remains largely12. invisible. Is there a clock in your father’s bedroom is it facing the window facing the north in13. Father’s house the clock ticked bedroom When did you depart your home-14. Town? When you were married You were married at noon outside15. The bedroom The clock ticks killing the curtain What material16. Are your floors made of never half a cup of rice scooped from the pot you named your17. Daughter after why did you name her frame is a skeleton building made of18. Wood like the floors of your19. House. How many people saw the wedding You say your husband wore20. A red suit Your brother says it was21. Yellow facing the north east of the steps of your neighbor’s22. House you and your husband ate from the same table No you ate on different23. Oceans do you remember where your parents are buried. Do you believe you are fit24. For skilled work Name the people at your wedding name your25. Daughter if I could name a daughter I’d name her after a wooden26. House or maybe the sea that goes shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
4. Buried? Your grandparents? Name the town5. Why did you what did you name your daughter?6. In your old house, in which direction did your windows face? North7. East? How many steps away is your house from your8. Neighbor count the steps. Give me a number the times you painted your9. House or carved words onto its side. What is your name in other names. Are you alien here10. To work skilled or unskilled? In Mandarin prisoner translates into11. one who is detained so the one who does the detaining remains largely12. invisible. Is there a clock in your father’s bedroom is it facing the window facing the north in13. Father’s house the clock ticked bedroom When did you depart your home-14. Town? When you were married You were married at noon outside15. The bedroom The clock ticks killing the curtain What material16. Are your floors made of never half a cup of rice scooped from the pot you named your17. Daughter after why did you name her frame is a skeleton building made of18. Wood like the floors of your19. House. How many people saw the wedding You say your husband wore20. A red suit Your brother says it was21. Yellow facing the north east of the steps of your neighbor’s22. House you and your husband ate from the same table No you ate on different23. Oceans do you remember where your parents are buried. Do you believe you are fit24. For skilled work Name the people at your wedding name your25. Daughter if I could name a daughter I’d name her after a wooden26. House or maybe the sea that goes shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh