Where I’m From By Mrs. Roberts
I am from concrete, from coconut and candles.
I am from the rice paddy silt
(cool and sticky with green shoots of hope)
I am from the deep well water, the river
Where forbidden ships took sail
With every passing leaf.
I’m from khanom and uniforms
From Kala and Ming Ibao
I’m from short prayers and long books
From sabaii sabaii and cool your heart
From the strangeness of “where are you from”
And twenty two houses I can list offhand.
I am the half, half, half,
Thai voice, Chinese heart, farang body
From neither here nor there
The infinite inbetween
In a drawer beside my bed
My passport waits
Covered in stamps and memories
It promises to me, if I would try
That I could just fly home
But through the pages, the dates, the changes
I’m not sure what destination would answer my heart:
Where am I from?
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