I asked
my mother if she wanted Koi flags
For
their home in Sacramento on May fifth.
Although
she was the mother of three sons,
She declined, telling
Me
that this was never something she had
Wanted
to do. Perhaps it was because
Her
own father had had no sons, never flew Koi
Before or after
The
war. Never envied neighborhood boys
Their
banners. She never saw the wind buoying
The
red, yellow or blue fish fluttering
Proudly in the wind
Not
until I read about my grandmothers’
Birthplace,
did I first know of carp flying for sons.
Yet
I never wondered why no fish flew for me
Until my first year
In
Hawai‘i when I saw so many Koi
Flags
fly. Having no sons myself, I now wait
Patiently
for the grandson who will let me
Know the feel of fish.
November, 2004
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