Laurels Literary Magazine Spring 2016 | Page 57

Tai-verberations  VII. Reminiscing at a polling station in Zhongzheng    “It may be argued that the past is a country from which we have all emigrated.”  —Imaginary Homelands, Salman Rushdie    As we stood watching the vote tally,  every secret grain of delta silt sewn   into my skin  yearns   for a childhood home.     I conjure phantasms   from the homeland in my mind—  a lonely Vietnam without goodbyes  hidden behind birth pained eyes.    Amid vibrant Taipei,  I stare back at a monochrome memory—  regardless   if I turn to salt.    45