The Hmong story quilt 
hangs framed against 
the white wall telling 
my history, my family's 
past. Stitched along 
the cloth's blue borders, 
light grey triangles 
representing the mountains,

my mother tells me. 
Vietnamese soldiers, 
stitched in green, set 
Hmong villages aflame 
in the upper right corner, 
the red stitches of 
fire a stark contrast 
against the beige 
rooftops. My gaze­ -
drawn by the curve 
and twist of the Mekong­ -

follows the river's 
path to the central 
scene of the quilt.