Broken Culture Parts from a whole when
by Jaslyne Tam
vomit lines plastic wrapped trash cans with
chili crisp and steamed fish bones
caught in throats that cause
pneumonia since my Brother
went to the hospital for a
bone and left with phlegm
cleared from his lungs
and contempt for a culture
that tried to stop his heart
Broken culture parts from a whole when
mother tongue becomes the language
of regret and appendages surgeoned off
by a doctor with blonde hair and blue eyes
who says he’s American and asks where I’m from
but frowns when I say America too
since my culture comes from China and his
comes from Germany but he’s actually American
because his hair matches the golden arches of the sun
Broken culture parts from a whole when
P says I look like her Filipino helper
and everyone says I should be offended
since That Asian isn’t My Asian
and my skin isn’t the same
skin that lines her bones
with sinewy muscles that rub
the same floors and scratch the
same ground when we fall from grace together
Broken culture parts from a whole when
frozen Bibigo dumplings taste more
like home than ones folded by hands wrinkled
by little red books and sewing needles
since home is not where the heart is
when a heart forgets how to beat
without the thrum of hunger in its veins
and when a package of dumplings can be
counted in the app with a scale on its logo
Broken culture parts from a whole when
my eyes become almond holes in my face
and my hair turns blacker with forget
since my body isn’t a body when
resent dunks it into itself and plugs the pores
with sticky rice so I allow myself
to fall deeper with heavier weight into a hatred
I can’t remember I had
About the Writer...
Jaslyne Tam has been passionate about poetry and creative writing for the whole of her teenage years, writing both for her personal passion and for various writing classes and courses. As a junior at Hong Kong International School, she is a part of the Ingenium Literary Magazine and Humanities Center. Outside of school, she contributes to Humanité Magazine, as well as publishing her own writing on various platforms. In the future, she hopes to publish even more writing and eventually publish her own collection of poetry.
About the Artist...
Camille Faustino is a senior at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. At DASOTA, Camille is a visual arts major. The medium of their piece is paint.