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H O
W A R D U N I
V E R S I T Y
Faces
& Voices IV
AN ANTHOLOGY OF VERSE AND
PROSE
my japanese teacher once said,
“you don’t talk like them”
Sadia bruce
they don't like me.
they don't like me
because my skin is too yellow--
no, not high yella, but a yellow
reminiscent of Vietnam, or maybe Laos (if
they've ever heard of it.)
they have no use for me.
no use for me because
my hair waves up when wet, hanging
down
a half a foot below my shoulders. so
unrevolutionary.
they don't want me there.
they don't want me there because
my head isn't wrapped, my feet
not clad in some Saucony kicks you
can only find in some hidden
Soho shop. Or maybe
some handmade leather sandals.
they say I'm not with them.
I'm not with them because when I open
my mouth,
I am New
England.
they ignore me.
they ignore me because my eyes, my eyes
are too small--like a China doll's, and
when I smile, they disappear into the mongolian
folds of my eyelids.
my japanese teacher once said, “you
don’t talk like them.”
they,
they despise me.
they hate me because my nose is too broad--
like an ita, and when I smile, it becomes
a vast, insurmountable mound.
they refuse me.
they refuse me because
my forehead is big--protruding, brown. In
the way.
they have no use for me.
they have no use for me because
I cannot speak Tagalog--only
Salamat and Cige.
they think I'm not with them.
I'm not with them because when I open
my mouth,
I am New
England.
they don’t think I belong there.
they don’t think I belong there because,
even though I’m minding my own business,
shopping for ginger candy and oolong-cha and
ramen and mochi, even though
I’m minding my business, shopping,
do I know what I’m buying? Or do I just
like
the image of a ‘fridge full of foreign
groceries? So
trendy.
they don't believe me.
they don't believe me because “if I were to see
you walking down the street,
I would think, ‘black
woman.’”
they don't believe me because I don't look the part--
just barely, anyway.
they have no use for me
because I miss phenotypical ambiguity by
a hair. I look
like Tahiti. Maybe Maori (if
they know who they are.)
my japanese teacher once said, “you don’t talk like them”
but
they don't believe me because
I'm too yellow.
they don't believe me because
I'm too brown.
they don't believe me because
?
and in response I said….
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