A Love Letter to a Brown Asian Boy

Charlie Burns-Bahruth

Dear Brown Asian Boy,

You are beautiful.

A handsome, sun-kissed prince,

Born in the Kingdom of Wonder.

Dear Brown Asian Boy,

You are strong.

With strength that lifts up a nation,

And a tiger that guides your soul.

Dear Brown Asian Boy,

You are intelligent.

A wisdom that engineered Angkor,

Then learned French, Czech, and Thai.

Dear Brown Asian Boy.

Your body is as brown as chocolate,

That tastes as rich, and as sweet, as the heavens above.

And you are as Asian as the Mekong River,

That flows from the Tibetan Plateau to the Delta by the sea.

About the author:

My name is Charlie Burns-Bahruth, and I was adopted from Cambodia, and grew up in New York State. I am reconnecting with my Khmer culture, and learning from an adopted Khmer elder, in Alabama.