It grew from a seed
I flicked into
the back garden.

A seed like
a fish eye,
slippery
shiny
black.

The tree has grown
twice as tall
as I stand
on tippy toes.

Brother Khôi spotted
the first white blossom.
Four years older,
he can see higher.

Brother Vū later found
a baby papaya
the size of a fist
clinging to the trunk.

At eighteen,
he can see that much higher.

Brother Quang is oldest,
twenty-one and studying engineering.
Who knows what he will notice before me?

I vow
to rise first every morning
to stare at the dew
on the green fruit
shaped like a lightbulb.

I will be the first
to witness its ripening.

~

Written By: Thanhha Lai