For a New Citizen of These United States
             Poetry is an author's tool to produce written work in order to express themselves and evoke emotions and feelings they have. Poetry comes in many different forms and from much different type of authors. It can be categorized in different ways. There are similarities and differences amidst the different types of poetry. Poetry classified "Asian", or "Asian American" poetry share similarities based on culture and race. The roots of an "Asian" poem most often times come from someone of Asian descent but this isn't always the case. An African American can write "Asian American" poetry if he captures both cultures in his writing. The things that make an Asian poem an Asian poem are countless. There are many variables in the equation. "For a New Citizen of These United States" by Li-Young Lee is a powerful poem that conveys a sense of Asian American-ness and also expresses a great deal of emotion.
             Sorrow and persecution surround "For a New Citizen of These United States,". The poem is written in a manner where Lee makes the audience seem ignorant of the events he calls out, "But you don't remember, I know, so I won't mention that house where Chung hid". It's clear Lee feels that the person or person's he's talking too has little understanding what he's talking about. He expresses his feelings well with vivid and exotic descriptions, "And I won't hum along, if you don't, when our mother's sing Nights in Shanghai."(1) The song title "Nights in Shanghai" combines history and culture to create a classical picture of past times. The history is a major factor in the poem and is an element to why this is an Asian American poem.
             What exactly is going on in the poem is unclea
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