Summary

In “Dear Sara,” the speaker responds to his cousin Sara’s idea that writing is just “a bunch of ants” crossing “a white desert” (22, Vuong's italics). He argues that the ants can lead her into the past. He believes words, or the ants, are able to survive disasters and time. The ants can transport her. Childhood, the speaker, decides is too short to be appreciated.

In “American Legend,” the speaker and his father were driving “to the clinic” to put down their dog, Susan (25). It was raining and the speaker was driving. He wonders if he “meant to / make the hairpin turn / too hard” (25). The car flipped. They dangled upside down, their bodies touching briefly. It was the first time they had hugged “in decades” (26). He remembers his father telling him to write about his wasted life. The speaker kissed...