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One Year Ago Seems So Distant
Location
On a special morning in December
20 years ago
I landed with only 2 suitcases
I cried, missing all the familiar faces
I was scared
After all, it was America of all places
I thought i’d move back
yet we stayed
I learned simple traditions
like saying hi in a locking gaze
with a smile across your face
or dealing with snow
which I had never seen in India
The scene left me in a daze
T'was my mom’s story
One I’d heard about a thousand times
except I never realized
the importance of her lines
See just a year ago i’d interrupt my parents
blurting words before the end of their sentence
I couldn’t have them speaking
with their accent peeking
even when they’re making perfect sense
It sounds narcissistic but i’d hate that look
The strangers' eyes judging
as if my parents spoke gobbledygook
See just a year ago I’d throw away my meals
I couldn’t take the other kids and their squeals
It didn’t matter that my mom spent lots of effort on them
people would still look and condemn
So that was the deal
Throw my food away and I was the same
Peer pressure caused me to believe
it was my culture to blame
It was this election that led me to reform
Hidden in each decision was xenophobic discourse
I wanted to fit in and belong
yet I realized doing so was wrong
I was different and there should be pride in that thought
I am proud of my parents’ sacrifices
Beating all odds and a little bit of rolling the dices
America is great because of our diversity
not because we isolate our country
That’s the truth as unpleasant as it may seem
See diversity is the key to innovation
to reaching a “perfect world” destination
and when we don’t understand this
we’re just limiting our economic gains and bliss
because without immigrants our country would not exist
I now eat my mother’s meals
I now let my parents speak
I don’t really mind who they displease
because at least they see people embracing cultures
not shying away like it’s a disease
I am proud to be indian
I am proud to have come from immigrants
I am proud to be different
One year ago seems so distant