My teacher taught me
the Chinese phonetic spelling
for heart is "xin", not "sin",
even if they both sound the same.

That was how I learned a heart
can deceive, had better
be pure and untouched,
marked only by a cross on a treasure map,
quietly waiting to be found.

          *

Grandfather lived
not speaking a word of English.
Every sound is a straight line,
unyielding, expressionless,
so we scattered him at sea
to be one with the waves,
undulating like pin yin:
the first, an ebb and flow rolling out gentle,
the second tone swelling to meet
the third, descending and ascending,
the fourth is a final taut to bring him back to shore.

          *

There is no word for goodbye.
There is watch your step, walk slowly.
Departures are unknown,
handle separations with care.

There is turn your head, there I will be,
and there will come a day in another time.
Long phrases to make the last
last because bye is too short
and sometimes, forever.

The closest to bye is bài.
Bài means to pray and I do it twice
to see you again.