nova_myth | Explication paper, here we go (Reply)

My first paragraph is coming along, but I am stuck with the second because of lack of info. Its maddening that the only references I find either are of limited details or only have reference to the poem I'm working on and I have to stay away from looking at other peoples rendering of the poem! But here is, tell me what you think?

In Li-Young Lee’s “I Ask My Mother to Sing” the speaker is reflecting back to when he would listen to his mother and his grandmother sing of a China he has never seen. The tone is one of remembrance, the song has been sung so many times. In lines 3 and 4 you learn that even though the father has passed he was once part of this song, “If my father were alive, he would play--/his accordion and sway like a boat” (Lee 627). The reader can feel the sorrow and nostalgic of the memory as he begins to describe his mother’s song.

The rough draft is due Tues, I'm going to the Library tomorrow for more research. If I don't find what I need... I'll just write what I can at the moment, what can I do? I'm emailing my friend who is from China and see if she can imput me any info on the places mentioned in the poem so I can have an image that isn't drawn from someone else's rendering.