The
Full Circle
For
Dan on Your Birthday
In the fragrant
candlelight, I was listening to the piano music, Nocturne by Chopin that Dan
gave me that afternoon. Through the glass window, the round, soft yellow moon
slowly danced over the horizon. Dan called me: “Honey!”
I turned my head back to Dan. Dan
carefully opened the red square velvet and took out the ring. Holding the ring,
Dan knelt; he asked, “Will you marry me?”
I was shocked; I stared at Dan. Dan
repeated, “Will you marry me?”
I kept silent; Dan held my left hand
and put the gold diamond onto my ring finger. My tears fell down. I embraced
Dan. He carried me to the bed. He dried my tears; caressed my face; he
murmured, “I love you, Honey! You are the woman whom I have dreamed of for a
long time. From now, I obey you as a servant. I am a servant of our immaculate
love. This diamond is the token of my pure love, as hard and sparkling as the
diamond. When I put it on your ring finger, my love follows the vein to your
heart and becomes a unique love.”
I looked at the ring. Dan continued,
“The round shape of the ring is symbolic of our eternal love. The love goes
around and never ends. The round shape is a strong shape; it is hard to break.
The gold is endurance; it can bend easily. Our love is endured in front of
hardship, but it also bends and is flexible.”
Dan kissed my finger. He kept
talking: “Honey, I am not a good man. In the past, I made mistakes. I have many
flaws, but I am trying to change my lifestyle to be a good man and bring you
peace and happiness.”
I told Dan, “Dan, you are a mighty
American with free, blue eyes that I fell in love with the first time I set
foot on this land. A few years ago, at the Citizenship Ceremony, I was engaged
to Uncle Sam, my ideological man. I love the United States, not just because of
its virtues and wealth, but I also love the United States with its dark sides.
You are the United States with its integrity and villain. Now, my engagement is
a full circle. I am engaged to the United States in both intellect and
physicality; in the abstract and the concrete.”
--Anhthao Bui
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