I moved west to head towards my east
Born and raised in the land of cheese
The land of milk, beer and cheddar
Cold weather
And colorful trees
with gold, ruby autumn leaves
Last fall, I went back to where I came from,
Drove in with my brother
Wanted to remember how it felt like to be the other
Never forget those small town values
Be kind to your neighbor, no matter what their use, to you
We weren’t white, but we were white collar in a sea of blue
My city employed by Miller Beer, Harley Davidson
and the Brew Crew
I am yellow. I am different.
To everyone, I am Chinese, Japanese,
and have dirty knees
I do what is prescribed
I play the piano, I play the violin, I skate on ice
I was born in the Midwest
wishing I was white
Needed to move east towards my inner peace on the
open Coast
I needed mountains, beach and snow
not just slush on the flat open road
And then I’m in Westwood, with my fellow brethren
Asian American,
but I had assimilated to make myself unlike them
Believing the lie of the model minority, good over bad immigrant,
Yes, I speak English well
and with no accent
I’m not ignant
I’m embarrassed of my parents and their being immigrants
That’s why I moved west to move east
Towards my roots, to feel complete
But it wasn’t immediate relief
Asians on this side of America did not greet me with
ease
They called me whitewashed, I was Midwestern nice
A façade masking layers of inner strife
Expecting a melting pot, I got a salad bowl
Walking into a city bursting with racial harmony was a naive goal
Self segregation by students aligning along color lines
Opened up my eyes, struck down the lie that is being colorblind
So started my reclamation
Of the journey over the destination, my reeducation
Gaining historical knowledge
in ethnic studies courses in college
Meeting humans of different races
learning in third spaces
Experiencing a wide range of cuisines
Made all my fears go unseen
Tapioca pearls in milk tea, doro wot over injera, green
curry mussels in coconut soup
Pineapple slices on tacos al pastor, abalone in my jook
Yakitori on Sawtelle, kebab on Brand
Biryani in Artesia, Michelin starred chef on Grand
I am just another transplant in Los Angeles
Twenty-three years I’ve been down for this
Thinking I’d leave, but transience gave way to
permanence
Los Angeles is acceptance, deceptiveness and
indifference
I love that light shines through the cracks in those
sentiments
