E.Chen, 11th - Burlingame, CA
this is an apology to my mother for forgetting my Chinese name and the sharp slice of a Mandarin vowel. mother, i promise you i will learn to mold my mouth back into its mother form, learn to fold my teeth until they are instruments for speaking Chinese. mother, i promised the Gods i will not erase my mother tongue, but English is a sharp knife, thats been honed to dull Chinese, and so forgive me if my name crumbles like fireworks at your doorstep, forgive me if my name totters and tumbles like Chinese checkers. mother, English is a hard stain to wash out of the jaw, but mother, i promise you i will climb into my mouth, scrape the walls of my throat, harden my tongue, until I can sculpt my name in perfect Chinese. Comments are closed.
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AuthorsStudents 6th-12th Grades month
November 2024
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