Home is waking up to the banging on my mother’s mortar and pestle. I learned it’s the best type of wake up call and I can smell the fried garlic in the wok. It is the bait that reels my little brother and I into the kitchen, where my dad is talking her ear off…
Unplanned words spilled out from my mouth to establish, “you are not in charge.” I am radiant, my worth is not based on you, I am beaming warmth. Painted veil, pressed dress, one bright smile, no event– just because I can. Resting bitch face on, a woman with a mission; don’t get in my way.…
Here we meet at this divide- Mine / Yours: Me, Minority A minor inconvenience. ———————————————- You, Priority An unquestioned privilege. I am the colour of my skin (Yes I am) (Yes I am) But there is more to me, more than this membranous shell I am encased in We are not just…
You speak in a twisted tongue, Reeking of lost patience and effortlessly ‘won’ arguments Your words form themselves, Plump and juicy, ripening with the comfort of knowing you are not outnumbered overlooked unheard I watch, ever the outsider, straining my foolish little eyes to trace the curvature of your practiced tongue, so accustomed it, to…
Drug Facts Written in English Marketing what I know as Pak Fah Yeow As “White Flower Analgesic Balm” For the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain To a Westernized audience Mom never reads these drug facts She knows from aa3 po4 that Pak Fah Yeow Is all-purpose For insect bites, stomach aches, congestion…
On most mornings, while walking to campus, I come across a million smartphones carrying a million people. Bent heads and screensavers, a connectedly disconnected universe. A place where you would rather put on earphones than talk to the stranger nearby or fiddle with your phone gallery than create new memories. So, in this world of…