I Ask My Mother to Sing

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1986

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Women and Singing

The women in “I Ask My Mother to Sing” symbolize history and continuity. Lee asks his mom to sing, but by Line 2, his mom turns into a daughter, and his grandma becomes the mom. The women represent Lee’s family across multiple generations. Through their singing, the women bring Lee, another generation, to a place that he hasn’t visited: China. In the poem, singing represents possibility. With the song, the speaker can access a country that he’s never been to. The singing gives the speaker the resources to intangibly travel to China and imagine what he might see.

Conversely, the singing throws Lee back in time. The song makes him think about what might have been if his family hadn’t left China, and then Indonesia, and came to the United States. The singing symbolizes a type of nostalgia. It makes him think of moments he will never possess. To counter this unfulfilled past, the speaker creates wistful memories out of his imagination. As with nostalgia, the memories whitewash reality. The tears of the mom and grandma imply that their history was far from idyllic. Life in China was not carefree and easy. As Lee’s biography demonstrates, Lee’s family had more to worry about than rain getting in the way of a picnic.

Water

Water appears in multiple forms throughout the poem. In the first stanza, water is implicitly present. In Line 3, Lee says his dad would “sway like a boat” if he could play his accordion. The motion of the boat alludes to water. The water makes the boat move. In the second stanza, water appears in Line 7. The water is the rain, and the rain causes the picnickers to move, as they run away in an attempt to stay dry. The third stanza features so much rain that it spills over onto more rain. The waterlilies, too, point toward water, since the plant’s name comes from its ability to grow in water. In the final stanza, water arrives when the women cry.

In all four stanzas, water appears one way or another. The motif ties into the melancholic mood of the poem. Water can bring mixed emotions. It can be unpleasant in some situations and enchanting in other circumstances. When the water is ruining the picnickers’ day at the Summer Palace, it’s not so great. When the water is filling up the waterlilies, it can be lovely and beautiful. The different types of water align with the poem’s multidimensional emotions. The water also evokes mobility and fluidity. The dad can sway like a boat because of the water. The speaker’s imagination can fill him with memories just as the rain can fill up the waterlilies.

China

In “Art Is Who We Are,” Lee expresses his ambivalence about being categorized as a Chinese American poet or an Asian American poet. He compares how he’s introduced with how Philip Levine, a white Jewish poet and one of Lee’s contemporaries, is introduced. Levine is not introduced as a Jewish American poet but as a general American poet. Lee is commonly introduced as an Asian American or a Chinese American poet.

Conversely, Lee acknowledges the centrality of his ethnicity. Many of his poems revolve around his identity as a Chinese person. “I Ask My Mother to Sing” is no different. In the poem, China symbolizes a concrete place. It’s a solid space that Lee can visit in his imagination. In the poem, Lee’s present location isn’t specified. The only geographical places that are specifically noted are those in China. There are four proper nouns in the poem, and each one relates to China. China symbolizes stability and distinction.

Additionally, China symbolizes history. The places mentioned in the poem survived war and potential ruin multiple times. Lee’s family survived myriad hardships. The inclusion of these enduring landmarks symbolizes the resilience of Lee’s own family. The toughness of China and of Lee’s family is touched on in the final couplet where the women sing on through their tears.