Nevermind

by Adam Jeffries Schwartz

You grew up in a suburb in New York. There was no reason for you to be there--
literally no reason:

one grandparent a Pole
another from outside Kiev
another still from Bucharest
and the last from somewhere--no one ever told her where--in Austria.
all Jews fleeing something, all Jews following something.

No one knows exactly wny we were here--what we are meant to do now.

Never mind, for sure you would know.
It would all make sense later, eat your soup.
Don't slurp. Sit up straight. This is all for you.

Before you could read you heard Jungle book, it became India.
Later, The King and I became Siam.
Tarzan stood in for a whole continent --but nevermind.
You became attached to rice fields, to jungles, to palaces crumbling
in the rain.

Cambodia's too small for it's own fairy tale, it had to beg, it had to
borrow, it had to steal. It didn't even get it's own war.

You heard Vietnam this and Vietnam that. The draft for Vietnam, draft
deferment for Vietnam.
But Cambodia was small, she had secret war, she had secret bombs.
You wondered how a bomb could be a secret, you wondered why gorillas
were a big deal.

Your teachers said, we'll talk about it at the end of the year, if
there's time, but there wasn't.

Never mind. It would all make sense later, eat your soup.
Don't slurp. Sit up straight. This is all for you.

Pol Pot was a funny name.
You asked your grandfather, the Pole, and he made a joke.
You asked your grandother, from just outside Kiev, she asked if you're hungry.
You asked the grandfather from Bucharest and he shuffled some cards.
Finally you asked your grandmother from somewhere in Austria--no one
ever told her where.

She said, " They don't like you--you leave. Goodbye. You don't talk
about them ever again--like it never happened."

You're in Cambodia now, never mind you have no idea why.

Cambodians have no such doubts:
lying, stealing, cheating don't count with you.
You're just a big, stupid American incapable of understanding their pain.
In this they are wrong.

Never mind.


	Nevermind by Adam Jeffries Schwartz You grew up in a suburb in New York. There was no reason for you to be there-- literally no reason: one grandparent a Pole another from outside Kiev another still from Bucharest and the last from somewhere--no one ever told her where--in Austria. all Jews fleeing something, all Jews following something. No one knows exactly wny we were here--what we are meant to do now. Never mind, for sure you would know. It would all make sense later, eat your soup. Don't slurp. Sit up straight. This is all for you. Before you could read you heard Jungle book, it became India. Later, The King and I became Siam. Tarzan stood in for a whole continent --but nevermind. You became attached to rice fields, to jungles, to palaces crumbling in the rain. Cambodia's too small for it's own fairy tale, it had to beg, it had to borrow, it had to steal. It didn't even get it's own war. You heard Vietnam this and Vietnam that. The draft for Vietnam, draft deferment for Vietnam. But Cambodia was small, she had secret war, she had secret bombs. You wondered how a bomb could be a secret, you wondered why gorillas were a big deal. Your teachers said, we'll talk about it at the end of the year, if there's time, but there wasn't. Never mind. It would all make sense later, eat your soup. Don't slurp. Sit up straight. This is all for you. Pol Pot was a funny name. You asked your grandfather, the Pole, and he made a joke. You asked your grandother, from just outside Kiev, she asked if you're hungry. You asked the grandfather from Bucharest and he shuffled some cards. Finally you asked your grandmother from somewhere in Austria--no one ever told her where. She said, " They don't like you--you leave. Goodbye. You don't talk about them ever again--like it never happened." You're in Cambodia now, never mind you have no idea why. Cambodians have no such doubts: lying, stealing, cheating don't count with you. You're just a big, stupid American incapable of understanding their pain. In this they are wrong. Never mind.
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