AMBIVALENT IMMIGRANT
read me forwards and backwards
I am happy to be here
a too-simple truth
I swallow
guilt
useless
to crumple and throw away
I only need
to be a good immigrant
I can dream
life is good here
eating fruit freshly harvested
I walk uphill and downriver
belonging
without understanding
I declare
they now belong to me
over patches of earth
watching seasons pass
I took for granted
old ways of knowing
now lost
I stand unrooted
on stolen land
Christine Fojas is a Filipino-Canadian hailing from Las Piñas City and currently living in Metro Vancouver. She has a BA in Comparative Literature from University of the Philippines and works as a library technician at Douglas College. A list of her publications can be found at her website. She is also on Twitter as @chrisfojas. She is a regular contributor for Marias at Sampaguitas.
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