Faux
Fake, imitation, or false
Haibun
A poetic form originating in Japan, consisting of a section of prose poetry that concludes in a haiku
Eddies
A current of water that flows upstream, in a circular fashion, around an obstacle
Lan oi
"Dear Lan," a reference to Ocean's mother in Vuong's "My Father Writes from Prison"
Em khỏe khong? Giờ em đang ở đâu? Anh nhớ em va con qua. Hơn nữa
"How are you? Where are you now? I miss you and my son. Further," a series of questions which bleed into English in Vuong's "My Father Writes from Prison"
Kapok
A type of tropical tree that is cultivated for its fiber, or floss
Không có gì bằng cơm với cá, Không có gì bằng má với con
"There is nothing like rice and fish, just like there is nothing like the mother and her child."
Huey, Tomahawk
Nicknames for two different types of attack helicopters used in the Vietnam War
Bushwhacker
Someone who travels off the designated path; also a dated term for a guerilla combatant
Isoproyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, Chloride, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Different chemicals used in nail salons
Bà Ngoại
"Grandmother", or "granny"
Hapa
A person who is partly of Asian or Pacific Islander descent
Agent Orange
A chemical weapon used by the United States against Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War
Fatigues
Loose military clothing or soldiers' uniforms
Charlie
Another word for the Viet Cong and Northern Vietnamese Communist forces, used primarily during the Vietnam War
Brownstone
A townhouse with a sandstone facade, popular in New York
Anaphora
A rhetorical scheme in which the same word is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses or phrases
Winchester
A rifle and firearms company
Alfafa, Forsythia, Foxglove
All different kinds of flowers
Sextant, Compass
Tools for marine navigation
Caravaggio
Born Michelangelo Merisi, an Italian painter of the Baroque/Early Renaissance period
Gia đình
"Family"