Just One Thing with Joan Kwon Glass

Joan Kwon Glass’ poem “mascot” explores the complexities of patriotism, parades, and pigeons. Here, she shares just one thing about the piece: 

I wrote "mascot" on Veteran's Day in 2024. I found myself in a moment of recognition that all of us have, in some way, been complicit in systems that ultimately cause suffering. Isn't the speaker in the poem complicit as she chooses to look away, to watch the parade, rather than show care & compassion? I've been thinking about patriotism. About allegiance. About betrayal. The romance that we are sold. And that we continue to pay for, willingly or unwillingly, even when we understand that we are buying into a lie. 

In 1988, while living in Seoul, I attended the Seoul Olympics. My father, a Vietnam War navy veteran, had disappeared the year before & my mother moved my sister & I to Seoul where she taught in an international school. Everyone was in love with Hodori, an orange, cartoon tiger--the adorable Olympics mascot. I thought of Hodori while writing this poem--imagining him dancing through the Forgotten War Park. 

Who would want to live in a world like that?