“Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker” by Ocean Vuong

Mar.

Advil (ibuprofen), 4 pack
Sally Hansen Pink Nail Polish, 6 pack
Clorox Bleach, industrial size
Diane hair pins, 4 pack
Seafoam handheld mirror
“I Love New York” T-shirt, white, small

So begins Ocean Vuong’s poem, “Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker.” In it, he catalogs the items his mother bought online at Amazon over the course of a year and a half. Vuong lists the items she buys each month and we start to get a sense of who this woman might have been: thank you cards are interspersed with lipstick, and, true to her history as a nail technician, many different types of nail polishes, buffers and cuticle oils. In June, the poem describes how she bought:

Large faux-clay planter pots, value set

Carnation Condensed Milk, 6 pack

Clear Nail Art Acrylic Liquid Powder Dish Bowl, 2 pcs

Birthday Card—Son—Pop-up Mother and Son effect

Nike Elite Basketball Shorts, men’s small

As we read her shopping history, it conjures up the woman, carefully deliberating on what birthday card to get her son, what gift should go along with it. But the woman herself remains a mystery. How was the condensed milk used? What got planted in the faux-clay pots? Her story is hinted at and yet remains unknown.

Then slowly, her Amazon history changes. The nail care items are replaced by medical items like back braces, pain relief pads, and a folding walker. In the second March that Vuong chronicles, the Amazon shopping cart included:

Mar.

Chemo-Glam cotton head scarf, sunrise pink
White Socks, women’s small, 12 pack

Apr.

Chemo-Glam cotton scarf, flower garden print
“Warrior Mom” Breast Cancer awareness T-shirt, pink and white

Through her shopping history, we come to see a glimpse of a woman struggling with cancer and contemplating what to leave behind for loved ones. Another birthday card for a son, this one described as “Son, We Will Always Be Together,” Snoopy design.” In July, we see that she bought, “Eternity Aluminum Urn, Dove and Rose engraved, small,” and in October, “YourStory Customized Memorial Plaque, 10 x 8 x 4 in.”

Vuong ends his poem by listing her last Amazon order, 

Nov.

Wool socks, grey, 1 pair

The poem offers no other words, insight or information than what is listed in the Amazon history, yet manages to bring the reader into a sense of who his mother was and what the last 18 months of her life were like. The format is stark but poignant, leaving the reader to imagine the emotions and circumstances surrounding each purchase and the slow shift in health. Although brief, the poem stays with you and, like some internet algorithm, exposes how much we really can learn about a person through their search history. 

The poem is located in Vuong’s collection of poetry titled “Time is a Mother,” in which he reflects on grief about his mother’s death from breast cancer at age 51. There are many ways in which to tell the story of transitioning from health to cancer to death, but the simplicity of “Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker” offers a touching view into the end of his mother’s life.