ISSUE III: Heritage

F R O M
E A S T
A N D
E L S E
Collection
Across the
Globe
From Two Neighbors by Philip Metres
By ASHLEY PEARSON
W H E R E
THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD
LIES IN THE DIVERSITY OF
ITS PEOPLE.
Unknown
In Monmouth, clouds
hangover blocking
the blinding sun.
It’s an abnormally
warm spring and the
humidity is thick in the air alongside
clouds of pollen. I parked across the
street from my old elementary school
as children played on shiny, neon
playground equipment and rolled
around in the dewy grass. I introduced
myself to an Americorps ambassador.
The middle-aged woman mumbled an
ope as she squeezed by me to enter a
tiny conference room. Despite living
in a tiny town, I had never met the
woman. “Big place, isn’t it?” She said,
winking in my direction. I laughed as
she shut the door behind us.
*cool in Korean
**You’re pretty in Korean
Down a busy street in some
Jeollabuk-Do province, it’s happy
hour. The wind picks up patron’s
conversations and moves them down
a block. Through a haze of smoke,
a thirty something year old woman
works the bar. The American air force
men are slumped over on bar stools or
leaning against cracked vinyl booths.
The woman sees the younger girls
enticed by the men and she shakes
her head. “멋진*.” one of the bar girls
whispers as she grabs another bottle
of soju. One of the men clumsily says
“당신은 예쁘다**” in vein of a failed
variety show host. But, of course, the
young girl blushes. They always do.
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