<\/p>\n
I am not a China doll. I am not a Geisha slut. I am not. Oriental. Exotic. Eastern. Fantasy. I\u2019m not. I wear my mandarin collar, my frog closures for me. Because I can. Because I am. I wear my silk, my brocade. I am beautiful. Delicate. Okay, some stereotypes were me. Silent. Passive. Accommodating. Were me. Exotic. Were me. Father wanted to be Western. Wanted America. Though his long trip on the U.S.S. China wasn\u2019t his choice, he made it his reality. Where is my father\u2019s boat now? I want to get on it. I want to return to a place neither of us knows. But, I won\u2019t leave in chaos. I won\u2019t leave with questions unanswered. I won\u2019t leave seduction spilling from my lips or yours. I won\u2019t leave crying or screaming. I won\u2019t leave not knowing where I\u2019m going.<\/p>\n
copyright Sherry Quan Lee<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Who knew
\nMother
\ncurled thick hair thin.
\nSinged the lie
\nRed hot metal over gas flames.
\nPetroleum jelly a kitchen aid.
\nThe kitchen
\nalways sterile, always white<\/p>\n
copyright Sherry Quan Lee<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Received in the fresh state and labeled left breast
\nbiopsy is an oval shaped segment of moderately firm<\/p>\n
8 hours x 7 days x 52 weeks x # of hospitals
\n= how much fear?<\/p>\n
breast tissue measuring 3.4 x 2.6 x 1cm. . . . The cut
\nsurfaces show moderately dense tan breast tissue.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t bathe, I can\u2019t touch
\nthe possibility of death
\nor survival
\nWrapped in gauze like a sanitary pad
\nI smell shame<\/p>\n
my breasts nothing<\/p>\n
pathological examination<\/p>\n
and everything<\/p>\n
copyright Sherry Quan Lee<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Minnesota is not compatible
\nto my growth, it is too cold.<\/p>\n
The Ice Age made it clear
\nMagnolias, you can live
\nhere in SE China, here in Georgia.<\/p>\n
My ancestors opposed the heat.<\/p>\n
Civil wars and death–or just a robin
\ntraveling against the season–
\ntossed Black \/ tossed Chinese:<\/p>\n
Here I am, a Minnesota mutant.
\nSnowflake.<\/p>\n
Like a magnolia, I am
\nnot white. It is only light
\npassing through. Mama
\ncooked tuna noodle casserole
\nand Daddy ate it.<\/p>\n
Like a magnolia
\n–whose sepals never fuse–
\nmy life is disparate
\nhere a Black community,
\nthere an Asian community,
\neverywhere white.<\/p>\n
He who chops down Magnolia trees is
\nnot a horticulturist
\nhistorian,
\nhealer.<\/p>\n
I am almost ripe.
\nTaste wintergreen.
\nSoon, I will unzip myself
\nshed pollen,<\/p>\n
Flower<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
copyright Sherry Quan Lee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China Doll I am not a China doll. I am not a Geisha slut. I am not. Oriental. Exotic. Eastern. Fantasy. I\u2019m not. I wear my mandarin collar, my frog closures for me. Because I can. Because I am. I wear my silk, my brocade. I am beautiful. Delicate. …<\/p>\n