Michelle Yang
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/
Where to find Alyson:
Website: https://www.alysonshelton.com
Substack: https://whereimfrom.substack.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byalysonshelton/
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