umbra11

Far East Sonnet You told me what I am supposed to be: Asian language scholar, great musician, nothing below “A,” mathematician. Just perfection to the highest degree. You told me I was born talented, right? Never had to draw on perseverance even when, because of my appearance, I was ignored—“obviously not white.” How long must inane prejudice remain? How many souls will you force to the test, piercing their hearts with sharp words. Will the rest of my “kind” be forced to carry this pain? Maybe you will stop telling us, one day, who we are. Then, the inner scars could fade.

Growing Pains It’s like growing pains. The sharp ache when your bones begin to stretch. and you don’t care that you’ll be taller because for now, it just hurts. Forced to grow, forced to conform, don’t dare to be different, someone, something, other than the ideal because you will be crushed: standardized tests can’t gauge you and will destroy any hopes you might have had for a reasonable future. since when have we, humanity, degenerated to the point beyond recognition that we believe something as shallow as state testing decides what makes the model American. How dare we try to intellectualize, cate