Wednesday, May 22, 2019

I Once Was a Child by Victoria Chang


I Once Was a Child
 
I once was a child am a child am someone's child
            not my mother's not my father's the boss
      gave us special treatment treatment for something
                  special a lollipop or a sticker glitter from the
 
toy box the better we did the better the plastic prize made
            in China one year everyone got a spinning top
      one year everyone got a tap on their shoulders
                  one year everyone was fired everyone
 
fired but me one year we all lost our words one year
            my father lost his words to a stroke
      a stroke of bad luck stuck his words
                  used to be so worldly his words fired
 
him let him go without notice can they do that
            can she do that yes she can in this land she can
      once we sang songs around a piano this land is your land
                  this land is my land in this land someone always
 
owns the land in this land someone who owns
            the land owns the buildings on the land owns
      the people in the buildings unless an earthquake
                  sucks the land in like a long noodle
 

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