I ASK MY MOTHER TO SING by Li Young Lee

 I ASK MY MOTHER TO SING

Li Young Lee

    Li Young Lee (1957 -  ) is a Chinese American poet, born in Jakarta, Indonesia to Chinese parents who are political exiles. He lives in Chicago. Li Young Lee's poetry is greatly influenced by classic Chinese poets - Li Bai and Du Fu. Having learned at an early age about loss and exile, Lee gives a clear voice to the solemn and extraordinary beauty found within humanity. Most of his writings contain the elements of his family history, childhood, and individuality. The recurring themes of his poems are simplicity and silence.

    "I asked My Mother to Sing" is taken from the collection Rose (1986). It is a postmodern autobiographical lyrical poem filled with emotion and the power of memory and nostalgia. The poem is written from the perspective of a young man who recalls the ancient traditions of his family.

I Ask My Mother to Sing

 She begins, and my grandmother joins her.

 Mother and daughter sing like young girls.

 If my father were alive, he would play

 his accordion and sway like a boat.

    The speaker asks his mother to sing. His mom and grandma sing. The speaker says they sing like “young girls" (Line 2). The simile ‘like young girls’ suggests their singing is vibrant and playful. The speaker's dad is absent because he has passed away. The speaker says that if his dad were alive, he would play his accordion and sway back and forth like a boat swaying on water.

Accordion - A musical instrument played by stretching and squeezing with the hands to work a central bellow that blows air over metal reeds, the melody and chords being sounded by buttons or keys.

 I've never been in Peking, or the Summer Palace,

 nor stood on the great Stone Boat to watch

 the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers

 running away in the grass.

    The speaker has never been to Peking, (which is another name for Beijing), the capital Of China. Nor has he gone to the majestic Summer Palace, the Stone Boat pavilion, and the Kuen Ming Lake. He's never heard the rain on the lake nor viewed the picnickers on the grass running away from the rain.

Peking - Another name for Beijing, used before the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Stone Boat - Also known as the Marble Boat (Land Boat) or Bu Ji Zhou (Unmoored Boat), this structure built in marble is located in the northwest corner of Kunming Lake and close to the western foot of Longevity Hill at the Summer Palace, Beijing. It is built during the period of Emperor Qianlong (1711 - 1799).

Kuen Ming Lake - The central lake on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing, China. Together with Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake forms the key landscape features of the Summer Palace gardens, Beijing.

 But I love to hear it sung;

 how the waterlilies fill with rain until

 they overturn, spilling water into water,

 then rock back, and fill with more.

    Although the speaker hasn't experienced the sights and sounds first-hand, he loves to hear his family sing about these places ("loves to hear it sung" Line 9). His mom and grandma are singing about their memories from China. Their memories are direct experiences. The poet’s experiences are indirect, as he learns from listening to their song.  

    There is superb imagery of the leaves of waterlilies- water fills the leaves of waterlilies until they overturn, and then they rock back to fill more water again.  

Waterlilies - A family of flowering plants, used as an objective correlative symbolising the feelings of the speaker's mother and grandmother.

 Both women have begun to cry.

 But neither stops her song.

    In the final stanza, the mom and grandma have started weeping. Despite their tears, they continue their song. The poem concludes with mixed emotions. The final couplet conveys persistence and sadness. Both mother and grandmother represent waterlilies.

Analysis

Lee asks his mother and grandmother to sing about China, the native country of his parents. The narrator of the poem wants them to sing because he wants to bring images to his life of places where he has never been before in China. The poem also brings in with nostalgia the memory of his father who used to play the accordion with them when he was alive. The poet attempts to get the reader involved in the narrative which consists of his memories and emotions. In short, in a bittersweet sad tone, by fusing memory, family, culture and nature, Lee's poem signifies the immigrant experience of loss and memory.

The poem is significant as it gives readers a glimpse into the life of immigrants. It also highlights the importance of family and connection to one’s culture and homeland. Respect for one’s traditional values, the transience of life, and the lasting impacts of memories are the major themes of the poem. The poem accounts for the speaker’s feelings for his family; he recalls how every member of his family plays an active role in keeping the family tradition alive. To dive deep into the time that had slipped from his hands, he requests his mother to sing so that he can relive his childhood memories once again. 

Poetic Devices

1. Simile

        Mother and daughter sing like young girls.

2. Assonance

        But I love to hear it sung;

        how the waterlilies fill with rain until

        they overturn, spilling water into water,

        then rock back, and fill with more.

3. Imagery

        How the waterlilies fill with rain until

        they overturn, spilling water into water,

        then rock back, and fill with more.

4. Enjambment

        If my father were alive, he would play

        his accordion and sway like a boat.

Themes

1. Memory and Tradition

The song of the speaker connects him to his past and helps him keep in touch with places and traditions he has never personally witnessed.

2. Power of Art

The poem illustrates the power of art in preserving the past and bringing people together. The song fills in his family with their memories of the past, as waterlilies fill with rainwater until they overturn spilling water to water. When the leaves are emptied of water, the lilies rock back and fill with more rainwater. Likewise, his mother and grandmother continue singing though the memories make them cry.

3. Exile Life

Poet’s parents were Chinese exiles living in Indonesia. The poem illustrates their longing for their homeland, to which they cannot return. They don’t stop singing about their homeland because they prefer the pain of homesickness to forget their heritage.