or was it just me?
don’t your arms ache
creaking with the weight
of a generation of daydreams from
across the sea,
or is it just me?
do your joints burn
locked, loaded to earn
bills and coins for a basic living wage
to make ends meet,
or is it just me?
are your muscles
coiled,
twice-fried in oil,
crisped and golden to bear slick, white male fête-
-ishization,
or is it just me?
does your throat strain
tight when you train
your tiny, yet mighty Asian mother to use her mace,
or is it just me?
how’d your gut twist
as the names of
six
rice-is-rice Asian women murdered washed
through the TV,
or was it just me?
Soon Chung Park, 74
Hyun Jung Grant, 51
Suncha Kim, 69
Yong Ae Yue, 63
Xiaojie Tan, 49
Daoyou Feng, 44
Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33
Paul Andre Michels, 54