dandelion emma zhang

ART by ANONYMOUS WORDS by EMMA ZHANG

Dandelion

It is my understanding that I am the Dandelion.

poised and patronized to be simultaneously a shining token to be collected and shown off by exclaiming White Children to thrive behind and only behind a White Picket Fence to not touch but be dominated by a White Man’s Gaze to be an upstanding citizen with the “inspirational” strength to pay taxes receive straight As and unabashedly declare my presence in the cracks of the wall vandalized with the statement “in pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness” ---

be my testament my witness, and cower in my un-blossoming as the flower the model yearning my contentment as the weed

My roots of Amber and Gold will thrive in spite

of being systematically cleansed from the carefully curated lawn as my 现实 is a revolting profanity too obscene for the ones with trademark Blue irises filled to the brim with contempt for the color Yellow the ones with a high pointed nose too narrow for the stench of soy sauce and intergenerational trauma But in my dream of Yellow nectar and sunbeams, I purse my lips not to croak out a begging whimper, not to gag out a state-mandated “thank you”, but to blow myself away and defyingly scatter pieces of my existence, sowing my legacy into a garden I may never see --- x