to my homeland, or: mixed race manifesto by toxic-nebulae, literature
Literature
to my homeland, or: mixed race manifesto
you are the homesickness that swells in my stomach,
no matter where in the world I am.
you are the crests and valleys of sound in my mother tongue,
which I speak well,
which I speak haltingly,
which I speak not at all.
you are every continent between me and
the other half,
one-quarter,
one-sixteenth of me,
every country that I must swallow and accept
as an obstruction upon my tongue
before I can taste my welcome,
long-awaited,
sweet and small and fleeting
as that first date at Iftar.
you are the seconds of hesitation when I am asked
where I am from,
when I reach out to you for a response
and am met with silence.
you are every question I