To celebrate Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month in May—and the rich tradition of Asian / Pacific American poetry all year long—browse this selection of poems.
more asian / pacific american heritage month resources
“I Invite My Parents to a Dinner Party” by Chen Chen
In the invitation, I tell them for the seventeenth time...
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“My Father. A Tree.” by Tina Chang
Today, longing for my father...
“The Floral Apron” by Marilyn Chin
The woman wore a floral apron around her neck...
“Poem Full of Worry Ending with My Birth” by Tarfia Faizullah
I worry that my friends...
“[An ancient pond!]” by Matsuo Basho
An ancient pond!
“The Dream of Shoji” by Kimiko Hahn
How to say milk? How to say sand, snow, sow…
“Haikai” by Sadakichi Hartmann
White petals afloat...
“From Blossoms” by Li-Young Lee
From blossoms comes...
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“I Ask My Mother to Sing” by Li-Young Lee
She begins, and my grandmother joins her…
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“Amphibians” by Joseph O. Legaspi
Amphibians live in both…
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“Resurrection” by Sally Wen Mao
In the autumn I moved to New York…
“The Gift of India” by Sarojini Naidu
Is there aught you need that my hands withhold...
“Things We Carry on the Sea” by Wang Ping
We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye mother...
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“Again, She Tells the First Story” by Barbara Jane Reyes
Once, then there was no light…
“Peaches” by Adrienne Su
A crate of peaches straight from the farm…
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“Unpacking a Globe” by Arthur Sze
I gaze at the Pacific and don’t expect...
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“Fire Dragon” by Sage Uʻilani Takehiro
Lao Ye sits at the edge of hala trees...
“Archipelagic” by R. A. Villanueva
Not vinegar. Not acid. Not…
“Kissing in Vietnamese” by Ocean Vuong
My grandmother kisses…
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“Naturalization” by Jenny Xie
His tongue shorn, father confuses…
“Music from Childhood” by John Yau
You grow up hearing two languages...
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