Kissing In Vietnamese

Kissing in Vietnamese 

My grandmother kisses

as if bombs are bursting in the backyard,

where mint and jasmine lace their perfumes

through the kitchen window,

as if somewhere, a body is falling apart

and flames are making their way back

through the vessels in a young boys thigh,

as if to walk out the door, your torso 

would dance with exit wounds. 

When my grandmother kisses, there would be no flashy smooching, no western music 

of pursed lips, she kisses as if to breathe 

you inside her, nose press to cheek 

so that your sent pearls into drops of gold inside her lungs, as if while she holds you, death also, is clutching your wrist.

My grandmother kisses as if history 

never ended, as if somewhere, 

a body is still falling apart

Ocean Vuong