As Us

A Space for Writers of the World

Leow Hui Min Annabeth – Poetry

O.K.

 

I want to be there in the moments

When accents slip, when we nestle

In warm corners and home

Falls in our voices

 

I want to hear consonants grow tender

Puffs of air on t’s and c’s

Dissolving into the dark

 

I want our mouths to caress

Every lengthening vowel

Before we let them go

 

OK, you say

Two syllables wrapped around

The state of California

The state of Michoacán

 

OK, I say, and in my words

The port of Amoy

The port of Singapura

 

This is for every teacher

Who thought college would smooth

Our parents’ forked tongues, and crush

Our infant throats

I push my mouth to yours and swallow

These sounds they never guessed we’d make

 


 

Leow HeadshotLeow Hui Min Annabeth is a Chinese settler in a post-colonial country, an anglicised product of the former British Empire. She is preoccupied with language politics and the identities of nth-generation immigrant descendants. Her essays have appeared in Speculative Fiction 2013, The WisCon Chronicles, POSKOD.SG, Etiquette, and Bitch. With many scruples but a lot of fierce love as well, she calls Singapura home for now.

 

 

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