Where I’m From #25 By Michelle Yang

Inspired by George Ella Lyon

I am from sweet potato noodles

from Shin Ramyun, jajangmyeon, and barley tea.

From the apartment atop a Korean bathhouse

(boisterous, chained, with bees buzzing between bristly bricks.)

I am from the forbidden mango my Po-po sneaks me,

the pulpy fibers cling between my baby teeth.

I’m from incensed family shrines and stocky, 6-foot Northerner frames.

From Yeh-yeh, Po-po, Lao-yeh, Lao-Lao.

I’m from sacrifice, from the left-behind.

I’m from ‘girls don’t fart’ and ‘never talk back.’

I’m from my grandmother’s temples

to the suburban churches, I never belonged.

I’m Chinese from Korea. Forever from the in-between.

A Yankee-doodle riding on a red dragon.

From War, Famine, and Gluttony— I rose.

Nourished by kimbap, potato soup, kimchi, and McDonald’s fries.

I am from Yeh Yeh’s pigeons, whom he fed nonstop in his dementia

until the sidewalks crunched with our noodles. 

Where to find Michelle:

Website: https://www.michelleyangwriter.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelleyangwriter/

Where to find Alyson:

Website: https://www.alysonshelton.com

Substack: https://whereimfrom.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byalysonshelton/