[WHAT ARE YOU] by Ally Ang

what are you?

i am transcendent/i am more than woman/or nation/or survivor/i defy definition/i am not yours to name/i belong to myself alone.

i mean, where are you from?

i come from fire/i am the ghost of all that you tried to burn/i am rising from the earth/i belong to the lands you attempted to conquer/i am here to reclaim what is mine.

no, where are you really from?

i was born of desire/of miscegenation/of everything you fear/i am what you get/when yellow peril threatens/the fragile stronghold of whiteness/i have spread my roots across borders/and i am growing still/i am the ocean/take care not to drown.

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ALLY ANG is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet and and the author of Monstrosity (Damaged Goods Press, 2016). Ally's work has been featured in The Fem, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Crab Fat Magazine, and more. Find them on Twitter and Instagram @TheOceanIsGay.

< Editor's Note ** Paul Tran >