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You are here: Home / Poetry / Not Your Good Chinese Girl—

Poetry

Not Your Good Chinese Girl—

I swirled a bottle of guava kombucha
touched my ear to the mouth to hear it sing
to hear the bubbles tinkle and poke

like a million grains of jasmine rice
being emptied into a jar, mingled with the sea
shells and salt from my tearful breaths

bursting from behind brittle ribs
hell-bound, burdened from breaking
hearts and stereotypes about beautiful women

—because Mama says it is good to be brave.

Eliana Chow is an American-born Chinese writer and editor from Pennsylvania, currently living in Chicagoland. She received her bachelor’s degree in English writing from Wheaton College (IL) and can be found on Twitter @elianachow. Her work has appeared in Honey Literary and Shō Poetry Journal.

Featured Artwork:

Madness

Allison Liu (she/her) is an emerging writer currently studying in the Boston area. She can often be found working on her novel, photographing the unusual, and conducting bioengineering research. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming in Yellow Arrow Vignette, The Violet Hour Magazine, The Foredge Review, and elsewhere.

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