Eighth Grade

By Natasha

Hi, nice to meet you.

No, I’m not Filipina.

No, I’m not Hawaiian.

I’m half Chinese.

No, not half Korean.

No, not half Japanese.

No, not half Taiwanese.

No, not half Vietnamese.

They’re not all the same, why do you think that?

No, my dad didn’t fight in the Vietnam war.

Did you just ask if my 50 year old father was in the Viet Cong?

He’s Chinese, remember?

No, my dad didn’t come here on a boat.

We’ve been in California for hundreds of years.

I like your accent, by the way, it’s cool that you’re from Manchester.

It’s nice that your parents immigrated from Poland to the UK.

No, I don’t know what the loudspeaker on the bus is saying

When it goes “ching chong, ching chong.”

I assume it’s saying the same thing it said in English.

You know, like a translation.

By the way, thanks for being my teacher this year.

I learned a lot about British tactics in WWII and nothing else.

Thanks for pointing me out whenever we spoke about any Asian country.

Thanks for teaching me how to be afraid of white men.

Thanks for showing me how to be embarrassed of my race.

Yeah, I’m excited to graduate.

Yeah, I’m going to the drug school.

Yeah, I’m kind of hoping high school will be better.

Oh, and thanks again.

Yes, that was sarcasm.

ROOTS

By Bella

I am from sunny beachy skies,

300 foot tall skyscrapers,

To the smell of the city smog

Far away hidden by fog,

This place kept by the bay

I am from latino americana,

Spanish speaking,

Sunday school preaching

I am from big brown eyes,

dark curly hair,

Mental illness masked by addiction,

And did i also mention?

How i stand tall and proud

Reaching 5 feet 9 inches

I am from stardust and ash

From bloodshed to tears wept

To candle wax and black ink stains

Poetry of a young girl personified,

What is this place called “home”?

Where i've wandered this dark city, lonely,

Questioning everything, reality rings,

Bank account on broke,

Ethnic cleansing,

To be as pretty as a white girl but still be “exotic looking”

No i don't have the need to explain my heritage

Or choose 1 culture over the other

No i don't like when others play the guessing game and

take shots at my last name

I am from cocoa butter kisses,

to chaos craving tendencies,

Losing myself,

Losing my religion,

Wondering when my faith would save me

Life on earth as we know it

Is too divine and sacred

To be bothered by such trivial things,

I am from heartbreak and hardworking,

“You can change the world” thinking

But im a just girl, only 17,

Worrying about the sats

And my constitutional rights being taken away from me,

Still learning how to love myself

And every day reclaim my identity, redefined

I hope one day to rewrite history, the law of physics

Maybe what goes up doesnt come back down

The lost kids of gen z,

ruling revolutionaries

Close your eyes,

Grab my hand,

Can you see it?

SUFI'S COUNTER NARRATIVE POEM

What's your name?

No, i'm not Jewish

Yes, I am Muslim

No, and it's called a hijab

No, not Arab

No, not Indian

No, I was born here

Yes, I am Iranian and Pakistani

Really?

So that's why you have curly hair

No you can't touch it

Your dad, huh?

Oh that's why you have such a ethnic nose!

Wow, so you speak Iranian?

Oh, your house must be so clean

Wow you're allowed to wear that top, that free?

Yeah it's terrible how you banned us

Thank you for acknowledging it

Yeah 9/11 was awful. What does that have to do with me?

No, I don't know where you can buy Persian rugs

No, I don't know where you can get henna

Thank you? I like your eyebrows too, I guess

Oh wow you read an article in the New Yorker

No, I'm not having a arranged marriage

Yes my parents value my education

Yeah. uh-huh. Ethnic. uh huh. Yeah.

exotic. Uh-huh. Different. Yeah. uh-huh. Uh-huh.

No I'm not a jihadi

No, I was raised by a single mom

Yes I am a khan.

This is not the face of a terrorist.

This is my face.

HELENA'S COUNTER NARRATIVE POEM

How are you?

No, I’m not Chinese.

No, I’m not Korean.

Not Japanese either.

I’m from San Francisco.

Where am I really from?

I was born and raised in San Francisco.

My parents are from Taiwan.

Where is it?

It’s near China.

No, that doesn’t make me Chinese.

It’s different.

You can’t tell the difference?

France and Italy are right next to each other, but you can tell the difference.

Why can’t you do the same for me?

Oh, so you’ve had an Asian friend?

Good for you.

No, I don’t know them.

Oh, so you’ve had an Asian lover?

Good for you.

No, I don’t know them.

Oh, so you’ve had an Asian maid?

Good for you.

No, I don’t know them.

Yes, it was terrible that you Excluded us.

Very un-American. It’s ironic.

Yes, I can see perfectly fine out of my “squinty” “chinky” eyes.

No, I don’t get good grades because I’m Asian.

Don’t discount my work because of my race.

A lot of us get good grades. A lot of us don’t.

I’m not your submissive princess.

I am me.