Ali Ahmed

03-28-2016

ENG 1121 – D465

Textual Analysis Essay First Draft

                                                            Missing People and Cities

It’s sad how people had so much happiness and those happiness made them cry. One day my mom sat next to me and shared her happiest moment. While she was sharing she couldn’t handle her emotions and broke into tears because her dad died and she was missing him. In the poem, “ I Ask My Mother to Sing,” Li-Young Lee also broke into tears and cried when both his mother and grandmother were next to him because they were missing Lee’s dad and China. Their singing made him think about  when his father was around with the family. Lee’s poem and my mom both shared memories about their happiest moment, also their sadness about losing someone, and their missing the parent’s city.

The happiest moment of my mom’s is when she spent time with her dad as girl. In Lee’s poem, the happiest moment is about remembering their father playing the accordion in China. When family is around, the joy of being with them sometimes cannot be expressed by words. Lee said, “If my father were alive, he would play His accordion and swing like a boat.” He remembers the time when his father was with them and played his instruments while his mother sang. People all have memories and they can be very special because memories can make people happy and feel very complete. Flashing back and thinking each moment can bring tears to your eyes. Lee really wanted to go back to those places in China that he never went to. He mentions that, “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.” Even though he lives in the USA, his memories are about China. For my mom, she often talks about her dad during the holidays like both Eids. At dinner when she was eating us, she would remember the time she had with her dad eating meals and going places like Dhaka.

Memories of sadness are emotional, my mom saddest moment was when her dad died five years ago. My grandfather Korban Ali died in his house in Noakhali. My mom was there with him and now she said it’s not important to go back to Bangladesh ever. In Lee’s poem, his saddest moment was also about missing his father. We go through tough times which are sad and hurt us. In the poem he mentions that, “Both women have begun to cry. But neither stops her song.” When someone sings while crying there must be a sadness. His mother and grandmother were crying because their father was not there which makes Lee more emotional. His father probably died because of disease but he didn’t mention it. When someone is lost from a family it is hurts so badly. Some people can not hold it and they burst into tears. Pain is something which goes through people’s lives. His mother sings with tears maybe to show she is in pain from something she is going through. Emotions are very hard to control when they remind you of someone. Even though he lived with mother and grandmother, there must be someone who is special to him and he’s not here anymore. He was surrounded by his mother and grandmother singing, emotionally started to show and started tearing.

The place my mom missing the most is Noakhali where she was born and where her father died. The place she most misses is Maijdi Jamwa Masjid which was a Mosque she used to go with her dad. It is the biggest and most beautiful Mosque in the city which has different colors, glass all around and it looks like the Taj Mahal. In Lee’s poem, even though Lee was never in China, he wanted to go places that his dad connected to. He mentions that, “I’ve never been in Peking, or the summer Palace, not stood on the great Stone Boat to watch the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers running away in the grass.” He heard about these places that his mother and grandmother always talks about which are connected to his dad. Both he and my mom miss the people they had in their life and places too.