Us

I am Malaysian American

People chuckling at the phrase

“you eat dogs”

While they forget we eat the same stuff too

Yet I laugh it off with them

A planter filled with

A Sunflower

Bat Orchids

Chocolate Cosmos

Dahlias

But the Sunflower blooms quietly alone

Bricks & stones pile on top of me with the standards of being perfect

All while direction changes the privilege that you hold

I am Filipino American

I exude the ambience of being hard working

Yet they ask me questions about the test because of my skin color

The sadness of my tears is all because of

A

Single

Letter

A single letter in which holds my entire life ahead of me

Never felt disgusted by one another

We join hands in celebration

But with an alluring remanence of devastation

Trapped in a metal box with nowhere to hide

My parents are laughing at me

Saying stay inside

I am Chinese/Cambodian American

I pour blood and sweat for the textbook in front of me

While my neighbors are being kicked out even though we’re called the

“model minority”

Success is what we bring but that’s not all

Racism

Inequality

Injustice

We all fight for one and one for all