Unhappy Ending Poem by Brian (Yaotzu) Bungcayao

They called her china doll
I called her for anther round

Her eyes rolled to the cat calls
the rats stalled the waitress from Hai Phong
with much less then a sly tongue
while pretending to be an expert on her Asian roots
but she doesn’t give a hoot
as they write little lines of kanji on paper napkins
not knowing she’s not Japanese and
and they call her a tease
as she collects the glasses then leaves.

The crowed of ignorance begin to yell 'Tipy Tipy'
waving dollar bills till her eyes squeeze
holding back tears and frustration
of being a transplant in a nation
where if your pretty and asian
you are obligated to please.

Sexual toy
of an infamous future for a woman
born 100 mile from Hanoi.
where her grandmother lays sick
and alone
after surviving two wars
raising 3 girls and a boys

she reaches my table
and i have nothing to say but
'Im sorry'
with eyes pointed down
and she loosens her frown
and says its ok with a crown and coke at hand

She glides away past the crowds
repeating the classic words
'me so hony' whispered by ignorance in an audible tone
while disappearing into a back room with a fake smile
and phones grandma and gets nothing but dial tone