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i'm from

i'm from the womb of my mama, four feet and 11 inches tall but rising high beyond the skies with matriarchal power. 

i'm from the belly of a woman raised on a land terrorized by falling empires and colonizer watch towers. 

i'm from the flesh and bones of a daughter of a country i can only claim halfway, half-heartedly, and half of the time.

i'm from the belly of a soldier brought over to the states to escape, but in vain, cuz here, we're foreigners eternally, and by design. 

i'm from the corner of 42nd ave & southcenter blvd, by a 76 where i first learned to take without buying. 

i'm from food stamps, broken english, white rice, and cross your arms then bow your head when saying hi to ong ba ngoai. 

i'm from jump rope, tagging walls, and bike rides down the block. 

i'm from false hope, identity loss, and fist fights off the clock. 

i'm from straight a's or no play, stay put or keep out the way, 

i'm from fake praise, model minority, puffed up, though never caucasian. 

i'm from agent orange, thunderstorms, and refugee scorn.

i'm from pages torn, forever foreign, and cultural mourning.

i'm from the cries of racist sayings, like "go home f-o-b, this is our usa",

i’m from "why your eyes misshaped - only open halfway?"

where i'm from, we straddle two worlds that never meet and never match. 

where straddling is home, because to one, we don't belong, and the other, don't want us back. 

where i'm from, we are torn from our roots and placed in thirsty soil.

where nostalgia meets imports & the dirt takes endless toil. 

where i'm from, the american dream teases but doesn't apply.

where success means to appease, to abide in the silence by standards that aren't mine.

home is in the belly of a soldier brought over to the states to escape, but in vain, cuz here, we're foreigners eternally, and by design. 

home is the flesh and bones of a daughter of a country i can only claim halfway, half-heartedly, and half of the time.

home is the belly of a woman raised on a land terrorized by falling empires and colonizer watch towers. 

home is the womb of my mama, four feet and 11 inches tall but rising high beyond the skies with matriarchal power. 

thy nguyen