DEAR YEOBO,*

by Tanya Ko Hong

When you say ramen

then I am ramen.

When you say tea

I am tea.

When you take off your clothes

then I take off my clothes.

If I could leave my senses

I would be no trouble.

You don’t give food

to the fish you’ve caught.

You no longer need to hold me—

please drink your tea.

* * * * *

*Yeobo: “darling” or “honey,” a Korean term of endearment

“Dear Yeobo” was first  published first in Rattle.

Korean American poet, Tanya Ko Hong, has been published in Rattle, Beloit Poetry Journal, Two Hawks Quarterly, Portside, Cultural Weekly, and elsewhere. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles, and is the author of four books of poetry, most recently, Mother to Myself, A collection of poems in Korean (Prunsasang Press, 2015). Fluent in Korean and English, Tanya is an ongoing advocate of bilingual poetry, promoting the work of immigrant poets. She lives in Palos Verdes, California with her husband and three children. Find out more at www.tanyakohong.com