Mom asked someone to bring me a sack of rice
Without leaving any message.

Last week, I went home to see her.
Before I left,
She looked into my eyes,
“No need to compromise;
There’re abundant rice at home.”

I was born
While Mom was doing farm work.
Feeling stomachache,
She went home giving birth to me
In a season when rice ears grew.

“After birth, the midwife buried your wrap-cloth and umbilical cord
In the rice paddy.”
Mom had gleefully chatted about this recently.

Mom sent a sack of rice connecting to my umbilical cord.

How could I eat the rice;
How could I not?



Note:
“Wrap-cloth,” which is pronounced “bao-yi” in Hakka dialect, means a placenta.