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Come Again Poems inspired by microagressions

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Foreword Words matter I ve been on the receiving end of microagressions I ve probably been on the other end too I just didn t know it I made up words for microagressions The poems are their definitions I hope you enjoy them Thank you to those who shared their stories 5

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Stazzle staz uhl verb The way your voice jumped it went an octave higher Almost as if you had just heard the unthinkable and unspeakable Does it faze you that I know the action of articulation The cadence of my words longer than four syllables brings shock to your ears If only mine did the same when I hear You re so well spoken 7

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Lazite ley zahyt noun As Pusha T said My name is my name My mother went to great lengths to ensure she chose the right name Each syllable was carefully weighed paying special attention to how it would sound in moments of pride My name is my name She told me a name is important but i never realized how important until I grew older When she named me she gave me permission to find my identity So no You can t call me fucking Patty My name is Pratika 9

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Groople groo puhl noun verb Minutes That s how long we ve known each other It seems like forever to you I know I know Comfort and ease spill from me like a fire hydrant on a sticky summer day That must be why you feel comfortable touching my hair without my permission OMG how do you get your curls like that My curls They re natural I call it being one part black one part Puerto Rican We were strangers two minutes ago I guess we re friends now 11

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Surrupsult sur up suhlt noun How am I supposed to look and act Should I have short buzzed hair and proclaim myself Queen of the Lesbians Should I start every sentence with Nigga please Sorry I m not wearing my hijab today How will you designate who I am and the box to put me in without any of these things 13

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Askroot ahsk root noun Slowly Steadily You watch me I can see from the way your eyes get smaller and closer together that you seem confused and skeptical I would be too How can I owner of eyes not round possessor of skin not white speaker of a first language that did not invent LOL really be from here I too am confused 15

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Ethistify eth is tuh fahy verb I like to think of myself as a complicated recipe too One part black one part Puerto Rican a pinch of Scottish and just a dash of Spanish It took nine months for me to grow It s taken thirty years for me to ripen I used to get angry but that was when I didn t know myself I know who I am now That s why I m no longer phased when asked What are you 17

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Manify man uh fahy verb Countless hours spent in the library my eyes so worn you could hang hangers on the bags underneath them Two degrees later my subordinates ask me questions they cannot answer themselves I answer with the authority that my foresisters never could Their voices drowned out by those that were deeper than theirs You came to my business today with questions lassoed around your lips You don t know my background I guess that s fair I can see why you had to ask Daniel the same question I just answered for you Who am I Just a woman with two degrees and an executive title I guess 19

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Racentical reys en tuh kuhl noun Language is a funny thing We all have the same required parts to utter particular syllables And yet I only speak Korean and English My neighbors across the sea look similar to me you say This might be true Our eyes blink the same We both have feet and put one foot in front of the other when we walk The language that leaves my mouth is carried by wind and falls on the ears of the Ignorant Can you read this you ask No I can t I m not Japanese 21

Complinot kom pluh not noun Thank you Thank you I needed to hear that today You see when I woke up this morning I crinkled my nose stretched and thought Today will be a great day Like an empty cup I am filled with joy and happiness that I get to spend another day in a world where Nutella exists And apples And Quentin Tarantino films I met you at a party later that day We exchanged laughs about that time at that place when that person we both know did that thing Cue laugh track 22

You were fun so I asked you out You said yes I muttered something unintelligible and sped off nearly tripping over my own two feet I came back later with a drink The corners of my mouth touched the ceiling Until your friend came by and said Your face is so pretty You d be beautiful if you started watching what you eat I smiled Fuck you Today was still a great day 23

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Blackitude blak i tood noun When you hear a loud woman I hear a woman who isn t listened to When you see a woman over exaggerating I see a woman fed up If I cry I m too emotional If I m stoic I m too robotic If I speak up for myself I m being hostile If I m quiet I still somehow have an attitude It must be my pigment dark like a sweet Hershey s Kiss that naturally gives me attitude No matter the circumstance 25

Inspiration

Someone once told me Wow You don t look like a lesbian A white student once told me I m really impressed you got into the Brandcenter Someone called me chinky eyed and told me to go back to my home country But I m not Chinese and I was born in Canada Sometimes customers need to have my answers validated and will ask a male employee the same questions I just answered Your face is so pretty You d be beautiful if you started watching what you eat One of my college professors asked me if I understand English well enough 28

Pratika Cool name Could I just call you Patty instead People randomly touch my hair all the time because it looks cool and different And they never ask I showed a game I developed by myself at a festival and most people were very nice But some male gamers would ask me So you work for the developer Where are you really from People are always telling me how articulate I am for a black girl 29

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