The Parents of My Parents
My parents were younger than I am,
going through a major period in their growth.
Did my grandparents worry about how this
would change them as the Cultural Revolution
introduced them to hardships and violence that could
change a child's view on the world forever?
Did they worry about how their kids would
become well educated with the nation a mess
as schools closed and educators such as
my grandparents were scorned?
Did they cry when their kids left for
the fields instead of for school, preparing
for days of hard work and no hope for the future?
Did they cry when my parents left home
with the possibility of never
being reunited to go to college
in America in search of
a better life for themselves and for me?
Did they cry tears of joy or were
they only tears of sorrow?