snaking lines
outside the testing center
a white man
speaks Chinglish at me
I respond with a smile, connard! (French, one of the official languages of Canada: asshole!)
Added: Two Hundredth Entry
a rover
searches the Martian dust
for ancient life ...
a masked shelter cook mutes the TV
then starts chopping bags of potatoes
Added: Two Hundred and First Entry, written in response to Chloé Zhao's Oscar award winning movie, Nomadland
I'm just houseless ...
this social distancing
between me
and a masked old woman
with an accent like mine
Added: Two Hundred and Second Entry
the smoke
from row upon row
of funeral pyres
streaking the Delhi skies ...
a stray howls into the night
a white man
ReplyDeletespeaks Chinglish at me
I respond with a smile,"connard!" ("asshole!")
The speaker reverses the power dynamics (L5,"connard!" French, one of Canada's "official languages) embedded in the linguistic racist discourse (L3, "Chinglish").
And there is nothing new under the Maple Flag.
On the day of the WHO pandemic announcement, I wrote the following tanka about anti-Asian racism
Second Entry, Coronavirus Poetry Diary
rush-hour panic
at the subway station
Chinese Canadians
dressed in hazmat suits
chanting "stop the spread of racism"
NeverEnding Story, March 11 2020