Poem: "香蕉 (Banana)"
how do I remember my parents?
in white
in yellow
looking at me inside/outside when I am passed to
and away from them
last Chinese uncle squeezes my arm on the merry go like he doesn’t want to let go
eventually, he goes
and I cry so much then that I can’t now
school squeezes the Mandarin out of me
and I learn to stop screaming,
to keep my hands clasped,
exchanging noise for a cookie and a toy
she grew up spoiled, they sigh.
not yet ruined or thrown out,
I can still be used, to be peeled
and made white again
sometimes I hear leaves and ache
to float over an ocean
and be unspoiled