E Pluribus Unum

Youa tells me a story over the hot hibachi: How she went to Laos To see her lucky sisters For the first time in two decades, Since the country has loosened up enough To let tourists like us in. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asks me, Then says she gave her sister Mayli $50 To help her family. When Youa returned to the Twin Cities, She learned her sister had been murdered For the money By Mayli’s ex-husband, who’d heard Of their family reunion And thought the cash rightfully belonged to him. “Did you give your relatives anything?” She asks. “Yes,” I reply. “$500. But they say they need more To get to America.”