[Chào Bà]

Anywhere else

when I mix trà and cha

meaning tea instead of priest

Chào instead of cháo

mispronouncing hello instead of rice porridge

Viet folks smirk, smile

laugh at my ridiculous

accent

but

At home

My grandma Bà Nội

pours me a cup of tea

without calling the priest

Bà Nội

makes me rice porridge

when I say hello

because

she hears the sickness

in my voice

because the dialect between us

doesn’t need

accents