American Alien
Imane Terhmina
Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest 2020 (view all the winners)
Honorable Mention, Margaret Reid, Traditional Verse
dear Europe, I believe
you dragged my body
into your History
this colonial legacy
you spell like charity
is it an apology?
or a wedding gift bearing
a fragrance of adultery
dear Europe, I'm afraid
I became auxiliary
to my own murder
I'm afraid I am guilty
out of necessity
This pointed finger
is a wheel spinning
blame: a dog chasing
its own tail—and shame
is thicker than water
my dear br-other
I believe I must
smuggle my rights
across your border
to wash my blood off your floors
to scrub my doubt clean
I spilled an entire ocean
I crossed to help
your younger sister
grow grenades in her garden,
and call them roses
to hold her hand
to birth her children
plucking roses to bury mine
and call it
—springtime
dear America, a national anthem is a siren song luring me in
a rallying cry spitting me out
say: what are you to me?
but tell me: what is I to I?
my allegiance
is a commuter
a regular stranger
to your ground
I mean: not at all
I mean: every day
I mean: a double-edged word
I mean:
my homecoming
is a plane parting land
a mother stretching hands
olive branches bidding
a westbound wind
this citizenship
I am courting
is a burlesque dancer
flickering
a star-spangled feather
to tease
my belonging
and this identity
you keep demanding
is a balancing act
on a rolling pin
a body disrobing skin
dear America, is this your trial
or my betrayal?
for I am fighting
for the day I pledge
my future to your flag
flapping drones over my past
for I am running
to find refuge
in your arms
smothering (still)
my own kin
this American dream
I keep wanting
is it your doing
or my sin?
