Someday

By Natalie Louie Colby

I wrote this poem as a response to the Allen mall shooting. When I saw the photos of Cindy, Kyu, James, and William Cho, and Daniela and Sofia Mendoza, my heart broke. I dedicate this poem to their families.

Someday

I hope my child thinks I’m brave

for making beautiful things
as reminders of beauty.

I hope my child thinks I’m brave

for sowing seeds 
where love might bloom.

I hope my child thinks I’m brave

for growing roots
in spite of the drought.

I hope my child thinks I’m brave

but she or he doesn’t need to be 
brave like me to enter

the playground
the classroom 
the grocery store
the church
the concert
the coffee shop 
the restaurant 
the park
the theater
the garden 
the salon 
the office 
the neighborhood 
the shopping mall


but can just be.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

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Natalie Louie Colby is a 2.5 generation Chinese American. She works in college campus ministry in Northern California, where she lives with her husband.

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