Description
I lost count of the number of times I cried while I was reading Kao Kalia Yang’s The Song Poet. I cried at the tragic moments. I cried at the tender moments. I cried because Kalia so eloquently shares how difficult daily life can be even without adding the loss of a father and a war.
I have also read Yang’s The Latehomecomer and set text from this book to music four times. It is rare to find writer who has the ability to share daily life in a way that make it feel sacred.
I selected this story for Osseo High School’s mixed choir, because it speaks to everyday, sacred tenderness. Young children often make mistakes, which they feel horrible about. Sometimes adults get upset and angry which is also normal. But mistakes can also be a moment for tenderness and unconditional love. These are the moments that children remember. These are moments in which we pause and take account. Moments when we can all know deep inside that love wins. Thank you Kaila for the gift of your words.
Text
I was five years old, Hue was seven,
when when we went out to play
tigers one day
and spied a large, circular rock.
Were we strong enough to move this rock?
Of course we were!
We were as strong as grown men!
We counted to three.
Pushed as hard as we could
and the rock ran away from our hands.
Slowly at first,
but then faster and faster.
We could only watch in horror
as the rock crashed through the
neighbor’s bamboo fence
and made a hole in their house.
We had caused a big problem.
Real damage.
We held hands and slowly walked down the hill.
Our eldest brother, Nhia,
his face a rush of color
told us to go repair the fence.
But neither of us knew how to cut bamboo,
let alone make a line of bamboo stand tall.
We focused on our task,
eyes to the ground,
we made a small pile by the far wall.
Then, our brother, Shong,
came and wiped away our tears.
He crouched down
and pulled us into his arms,
broken bamboo and all.
“My little brothers, stop crying.
Your big brother is here.
I know you two are too young to know
the strength of a rolling boulder.
Little boys cannot do the work of a grown man.
There is no reason to cry. I will mend the fence.”
Selection from THE SONG POET: A MEMOIR OF MY FATHER
by Kao Kalia Yang.
Copyright © 2016 by Kao Kalia Yang.
adapted by Catherine Dalton, 202
Program Notes
I lost count of the number of times I cried while I was reading Kao Kalia Yang’s The Song Poet. I cried at the tragic moments. I cried at the tender moments. I cried because Kalia so eloquently shares how difficult daily life can be even without adding the loss of a father and a war.
I have also read Yang’s The Latehomecomer and set text from this book to music four times. It is rare to find writer who has the ability to share daily life in a way that make it feel sacred.
I selected this story for Osseo High School’s mixed choir, because it speaks to everyday, sacred tenderness. Young children often make mistakes, which they feel horrible about. Sometimes adults get upset and angry which is also normal. But mistakes can also be a moment for tenderness and unconditional love. These are the moments that children remember. These are moments in which we pause and take account. Moments when we can all know deep inside that love wins. Thank you Kaila for the gift of your words.
