Page 64 / Sitting Across From Me On The Bus A Chinese Poem by Frances Chung

Sitting across from me on the bus a Chinese
couple and their young son. The wife is not
accustomed to riding in automobiles so she
feels nauseous and uncomfortable. She cups
her hand over her mouth as if to vomit.
Finally, she opens her pocketbook to fish
out pieces of coconut candy, offering one to
her husband and son wordlessly. They are
headed for Chinatown with shopping bags of
groceries. They do not speak much to each
other and when they do, they speak a different
dialect. The scene is reenacted endless times
with the stage sometimes shifting to the
subway.