The Gene
Somewhere between the ages of ten and seventeen
I seemed to have lost that Asian gene
By that I mean, the one that makes me conform to stereotypes
To the same gripes
That every valedictorian
Historian, inventor of the Delorean
Has fallen gory victim in
I lost that drive
The will to thrive in a sea of cannibal fish
That poison their own meat to take the seat
At the top of the mound of bodies
That somehow has collected on the ocean floor
…wait there’s more
There’s a score to settle,
With me and my heritage
Which is somehow linked to my student ranking percentage
To the first letter of the alphabet
You can bet I got beef with this biz
With this saying that I’m supposed to be a whiz
A real wunderkind, a genius, a prodigy
Could ya stop it please?
To be honest, there’s a direct correlation between the nonsense spread in the nation
And the sensation I get when I’m asked if I’m really Asian
Who cares about relations or equations
I can tell you how this line looks
It’s goin down in the history books
It’s the mystery of why school is suddenly about yellow supremacy
When being number one is and always has been a fantasy
Not meant for me
Because I’m not one of many
I was not mass produced in a factory for a penny
I got smarts plenty
Hell I’ve gotten more Z’s in class than any
Other joe schmoe in a sweater vest or polo
And I don’t need the DNA or the A
In my race to somehow find my place
I don’t disgrace or dishonor my family
What I choose to do will only define me
I’m more than a pair of 23 chromosomes
I am my own
And I can hold my own
I don’t disown my identity
I embrace individuality, personality
...sobriety
Please step off your high horse for a second to speak with me
To understand me
To see me
While I may look you in the eye with an unintentional slant
Or with such an accent that may disenchant
Hear me for a moment
Listen not to the skin
But to the soul
The whole of it
The holes in it
The broken logic that somehow slipped through the cracks
The attacks, the facts
I’m part of the race
The rat race, the grand chase
The many paths we take
The many mistakes we make
I’m not fake
I’m 100% percent made in reality
I am not defined by nationality
Or a technicality
No, my genes are designed with originality
Tailored to my size and rationality
If you look carefully
You’ll see the unique tears
The colors
The designs
My own personal lines of existence
