Khê Kinh Kha

THE WEIGHT OF QUIET THINGS

In a world that shouts for attention,
where noise pretends to be truth,
where promises scatter like dust in the wind,
and certainty feels like a fading memory—
there remains the quiet work of love.

A mother rising before dawn,
hands worn, spirit steady,
teaching without speeches
that integrity is a daily bread.

A father who keeps his word
even when no one applauds,
who builds not for applause
but for the children watching.

A spouse who carries burdens
without announcing sacrifice,
whose silence is not withdrawal
but strength held in reserve.

A child who learns that truth
is not the loudest voice,
but the one that endures
after the echoes fade.

A nation that remembers
that freedom is not noise,
but covenant—
a promise kept across generations.

And so we choose the quiet things:
the vow honored,
the duty fulfilled,
the truth spoken gently,
the justice applied evenly,
the mercy extended freely,
the faith lived humbly.

For the future does not belong
to the empty can that rattles,
but to the filled vessel
that carries weight.

May we be full.
May we be steady.

May we be true.

JOE HUNG NGUYEN
(FROM THE BOOK:" DON'T BE AN EMPTY CAN")