Chicken Breasts in Ziplock Bags

My mother

marinates chicken

in ziplock bags

Two white breasts

swimming in

soy sauce and lemon grass

chili oil and sesame seeds

ginger

cilantro

bean sprouts

bok choy

Genuine Brewed

Rice Vinegar

Heineken Beer & Soju & Sake

And the lady wearing her traditional

bamboo hat

the same hat

foreigners buy

as a souvenir

Her bent back

over fields of rice paddies

is a souvenir

Sometimes the old lady

is on street corners

selling rice cakes wrapped in

banana leaves

in 97° heat

And she gives me hope

sweat running down her neck,

marinating

Dear Brian & Chicken Breasts in Ziplock Bags, first published in heART Journal Magazine