Aerie InternationaL - Missoula County Public Schools

the tWo SIdeS of A nAme:
AlexAndrIA Song hWA KIm
Song-Hwa:
Vowels of the English alphabet are novice.
Humored foreigners do not understand the
rich, tunneled “oh” and the lingering roll
of the tongue, emphasizing on the exhale
with a tickle on a quick widening of the lips.
The blow on the “h” masks a precise, tidy
whisper that precedes the tidal wave of
a satisfied “ah.”
The two syllables connect in one breath.
Names represent the beauty of sound that
is reserved for distant brothers and sisters.
Alexandria:
But here I am defined by accomplishment,
a name used to label passports and bank cards.
The name is a jigsaw piece that was
wedged into the wrong grooves;
I am drowning in this melting pot.
My mother does not know how to spell it,
(let alone pronounce it),
unable to find the rhythm of this name
of forbidden five syllables and dribbling English,
like raw grease dripping onto her lap from
under cooked, bleeding Big Macs.
My mother was dust in the tumbleweed
of desperate dreams –
masking identity, embracing
“ass-imilation,”
fleeing in shame when they
scurried on the streets of gold and dollar bills.
53