I Feel Poem by Evelyn Nesselrode Nesselrode

They ask me what type of Asian am I?
They ask me my identity,
ask mock me
My slant eyes
My yellow ish skin
My culture

I tell them
But they don't listen
Little do they know what it's like to be Asian
Let me tell you agian

Let me tell you how it feels
when every time you confuse me
for some other nationality
That shares similar features
Is slowing striping me away from my inbdivualty
From my culture

Let me tell you about the derogatory terms Ching Chong
I'll tell you want you don't know about
Like how chink comes from the clinking of the metal railroad
That my ancestors built for a country that despised them
That my ancestors built to connect this country
A country that wasn't theirs
Let me tell you the struggles of being Asian adoptee
How I'm never Chinese or American enough

Again you ask me what type of Asian am I
Yes I'm that Chinese sterotype
I'm that Asian who can't say her "r"s correctly
I'm that Asian that is a calculated math and science genius
I'm that Asian that drives a quarter mile with my blinker on
I'm that Asian that knows and rembers eveything
I'm that Asian that's an expert on all things Asian
I'm that Asian that has the perfect grades

Yet each time you mock me
Each time you ask me what type of Asian I am
Each time you form your eyes to be slant eye
Each time you ask if we eat pets
I still feel pride
I feel heritage
I feel Chinese
I feel Vietnamese
I feel American