this is the story of Rachel's life
 a gentle tale, without any strife

   i met her dancing in the Bamboo Room
the band weaves magic with a music loom

between the dance, we sat to converse
  whence i promised to write in verse
(rhyming english and simple chinese)
  what words from her i could tease

her people are of chinese descent
 now American, though only recent

 her mother was born in malaysia
(an island land in distant asia)
Her father came from British Hong Kong
      but his name is not in this song

    because they fled that communist land
their daughter was born in mighty England

she moved to Maine when  one year old
       where her life began to unfold
    and lived there until twenty-three
then came to Florida (where she met me)

now she's techie working in drug rehab
     caring and driving beyond the lab
where she helps cure their mental illness
 turns tortured souls to gentle stillness

there's more to her than these few lines
          but now i'm just out of rhymes
    but so that i won't be remiss
i promised a tale, and here it is.