{"id":55234,"date":"2024-01-10T01:00:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T09:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/?p=55234"},"modified":"2024-01-10T12:16:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T20:16:17","slug":"generational-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"Generational Trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Photo by McKenna Phillips on Unsplash<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Ocean Vuong\u2019s \u201cSomeday I\u2019ll Love Ocean Vuong\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019re never alone when you look in the mirror.
\nYour dad will always be your dad until one
\nof you forgets. Your mom will always be
\nyour mom until you see her sun spots
\nas your own, her wrinkles become your defining features
\nand a silver ghost creeps from behind the back of your head
\nthrough a tangled knot in your thinning hair
\nuntil memories overlap,<\/p>\n

B\u1ed1\u2019s, M\u1eb9\u2019s, yours –
\n______<\/span>responding in a foreign language in your hometown
\n__________________________<\/span>the soft ripples of the moon\u2019s coldness
\n____________<\/span>the cackling of white onions in spaghetti
\n________________<\/span>laundry in cold showers
\nswimming lessons to make shore
\n__________<\/span>bike rides for sugarcane juice
\nlying on the carpet watching the Sound of Music in theaters
\n__________________<\/span>the stereo playing Beatle records
\n______<\/span>a shipyard of cardboard boxes<\/p>\n

Police sirens or city alarms trigger sweat behind your knees. You scratch
\nuntil you break skin. Blood on your hands, you can\u2019t tell if they\u2019re
\n______<\/span>the same hands that buried themselves in the hole in your chest,
\n______<\/span>the hands that wiped hanging tears from dry eyes,
\n______<\/span>hands suppressing screams escaping a shaking body,<\/p>\n

______<\/span>or hands to hold you while you sit still in the space between return and the next line.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Thi Nguyen<\/strong> is an emerging poet, California native, born from Vietnamese refugees in San Jose, and is currently living in Los Angeles. Thi is in her final year at University of New Orleans, pursuing an online MFA in creative writing, focusing on poetry. She loves coffee and takes it with a splash of oat milk. Her recent interview with Marilyn Chin, regarding her latest book,\u00a0Sage<\/i>, can be read on\u00a0Poetry Society of America<\/i>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Liked what you just read? Consider donating today to support Southeast Asian diasporic arts!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re never alone when you look in the mirror.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":55238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[575],"tags":[2175],"yoast_head":"\nGenerational Trauma - DVAN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Generational Trauma - DVAN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You\u2019re never alone when you look in the mirror.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DVAN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DiasporicVietnameseArtistsNetwork\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-10T09:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-10T20:16:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1064\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"guest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dia_CRITICS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@dia_CRITICS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"guest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"guest\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8fe953e505afc6616ddd049343855be1\"},\"headline\":\"Generational Trauma\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-10T09:00:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-10T20:16:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\"},\"wordCount\":319,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Thi Nguyen\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Poetry\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\",\"name\":\"Generational Trauma - DVAN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-10T09:00:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-10T20:16:17+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png\",\"width\":1064,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/\",\"name\":\"DVAN\",\"description\":\"Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) empowers Vietnamese American literature and art\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network\",\"alternateName\":\"DVAN\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dvan-logo-multi-color@1x.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dvan-logo-multi-color@1x.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":93,\"caption\":\"Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DiasporicVietnameseArtistsNetwork\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/dia_CRITICS\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/weare_dvan\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8fe953e505afc6616ddd049343855be1\",\"name\":\"guest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e61fe02de51f695aa132a0807376e2de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e61fe02de51f695aa132a0807376e2de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"guest\"},\"description\":\"diaCRITICS will occasionally feature guest writers contributing originals, or will reprint topical articles.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dvan.org\/author\/guest\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Generational Trauma - DVAN","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Generational Trauma - DVAN","og_description":"You\u2019re never alone when you look in the mirror.","og_url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/","og_site_name":"DVAN","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DiasporicVietnameseArtistsNetwork\/","article_published_time":"2024-01-10T09:00:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-10T20:16:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1064,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"guest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dia_CRITICS","twitter_site":"@dia_CRITICS","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"guest","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/"},"author":{"name":"guest","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8fe953e505afc6616ddd049343855be1"},"headline":"Generational Trauma","datePublished":"2024-01-10T09:00:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-10T20:16:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/"},"wordCount":319,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png","keywords":["Thi Nguyen"],"articleSection":["Poetry"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/","url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/","name":"Generational Trauma - DVAN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png","datePublished":"2024-01-10T09:00:19+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-10T20:16:17+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/2024\/01\/generational-trauma\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png","width":1064,"height":640},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/","name":"DVAN","description":"Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network (DVAN) empowers Vietnamese American literature and art","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#organization","name":"Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network","alternateName":"DVAN","url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dvan-logo-multi-color@1x.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dvan-logo-multi-color@1x.png","width":200,"height":93,"caption":"Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DiasporicVietnameseArtistsNetwork\/","https:\/\/x.com\/dia_CRITICS","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/weare_dvan\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/person\/8fe953e505afc6616ddd049343855be1","name":"guest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e61fe02de51f695aa132a0807376e2de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e61fe02de51f695aa132a0807376e2de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"guest"},"description":"diaCRITICS will occasionally feature guest writers contributing originals, or will reprint topical articles.","url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/author\/guest\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/McKenna-Phillips-Hands-Featured.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55234"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55275,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55234\/revisions\/55275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dvan.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}