House

One of the settings Vuong envisions in “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong” is “the house with childhood / whittled down to a single red trip wire” (12-13). With this mention of his “childhood” “house,” Vuong acknowledges the past that he still remembers. However, Vuong minimizes the ability of these “childhood” traumas to deterministically configure his future. While this “house” still exists in the metaphorical form of a dangerous “red trip wire,” it is still just a “single” obstacle. Vuong does not just minimize the deterministic danger of “the house” in the form of a “trip wire” – he also looks towards the boundless potential of his future. While the events of his “house” are crystallized in his past, Vuong suggests that this architecture does not have to be part of the architectural landscape of where he is headed. He further minimizes the efficacy of the house – “Don’t worry...