Triggers for December:
1. without that small voice creeping in
2. strange to say
3. well it was true
4. what is love?
5. I don’t think I can
6. I feel guilty
7. as American as a family can be
8. so this is where I am
“Chronicle,” by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge
I was born the year of the loon
in a great commotion. My mother — who used to pack $500 cash
in the shoulders of her fur gambling coat,
who had always considered herself
the family’s “First Son”—
took one look at me
and lit out
on a vacation to Sumatra.
Her brother purchased my baby clothes;
I’ve seen them, little clown suits
of silk and color.
Each day
my Chinese grandmother bathed me
with elaboration in an iron tub;
amahs waiting in line
with sterilized water and towels
clucked and smiled
and rushed about the tall stone room
in tiny slippers.
After my grandfather
accustomed himself to this betrayal by First Son,
he would take me in his arms,
walk with me
by the plum trees, cherries, persimmons;
he showed me the stiff robes
of my ancestors and their drafty hall,
the long beards of his learned old friends,
and his crickets.
Grandfather talked to me, taught me.
At two months, my mother tells me,
I could sniff for flowers,
stab my small hand upwards to the moon.
Even today I get proud
When I remember
This all took place in China.
Rules
- We reserve the right to remove content that promotes hate or gratuitous violence. Be respectful and courteous to others.
- All contest challenge entries must be submitted by the designated
- Enter as many times as you like using a trigger/prompt (this page).
- Contest Challenge entries can be prose (including short stories, nonfiction essays, or whatever you write), poetry, or plays -- or any type of hybrid writing you dream up.
- Every entry must have a title -- unless you choose to enter a haiku, in which case you can simply enter the word haiku in the title section.
- All content/entries should be original work. You retain ownership of your entries; however, we may ask to use them elsewhere on the site or on social media to help promote Bamboo Ridge and/or the Bamboo Shoots online writing community.
- Winners will be announced with all possible speed after the end of each month. Winners receive 10 Bamboo Bucks credit to spend in the BRP online bookstore. Bamboo Bucks have no monetary value outside of the online store.
- Entries may also be selected for publication in the regular Bamboo Ridge Journal. If your piece is chosen, the editors will contact you via the email address on file.
- Please note that you need not enter the contest challenge in order to post on Bamboo Shoots. You may post other writing if you choose. We welcome that here: Click this link to go to Shoot da Breeze.
This prompt is closed for submissions.