Outside in America: identity
i’m not sure what it is to be asian in america.
am i afraid?
(they murdered vincent chin)
of a virus racing through humanity?
i have an asian face
are we humane?
(they humiliated danny chen)
we don’t protect the least among us.
(oh hae min lee)
colonialism isn’t past.
it is our reality.
i have an asian body
we are enslaved under an economic banner
that supersedes humanity.
am i a model minority?
So,
if i venture out
will i be beaten for being gay?
(they tortured matthew shepard)
or not white?
(they desecrated henry lew)
will i make it home?
a perpetual foreigner?
to the illusions of safety,
am i american?
of succor,
was i ever?
of warmth?
(goodbye adam crasper)
so am i afraid?
i am. have been.
(Published in The Pitkin Review, Spring 2021.)
HEATH HYUN HOUGHTON is a Korean American adoptee. He is a writer, actor and director, currently living in Portland, OR.
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