The narrow clearing down to the river
I walk alone, out of breath
my body catching on each branch.
Small children maneuver around me.

Often, I want to return to my old body
a body I also hated, but hate less

given knowledge.
Sometimes my friends-my friends

who are always beautiful & heartbroken
look at me like they know

I will die before them.
I think the life I want

is the life I have, but how can I be sure?
There are days when I give up on my body

but not the world. I am alive.
I know this. Alive now

to see the world, to see the river
rupture everything with its light.

About This Poem
"The poem is about the little moments of love I have for the world, but also my body, which allows me to attend the world."
-Hieu Minh Nguyen

About Hieu Minh Nguyen
Hieu Minh Nguyen is the author of "Not Here" (Coffee House Press, forthcoming in 2018).? He lives in Minneapolis.

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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.

(c) 2017 Hieu Minh Nguyen. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate