I wonder what it is like to be American
Not the way I am
Not with the history of Perisa
Flowing through my blood
But with a blank canvas
Where you paint your own picture
I wonder what it is like without a background on your painting
Without the map of Iran sketched out for you
Where your parents filled in the experience of Shiraz And Esvehan
And where I must sketch out the United States next to it.
I wonder why my friend thinks being American is boring
Why they don’t enjoy the melting pot of culture
Which brought Hamid Rizi and Maryam Fadaei together
Which brought me and my brother to life
I wonder what it was like for my parents
When they flew on the plane
From their own home
To a house of freedom
What rush of fright
And tidal wave of joy
Washed over them when they landed
I wonder what it is like for others
When they hear the word “Iran”
Slip out of my mouth
I wonder why I always see
A look of confusion
Or surprise
When I answer the question
“Where are you from?”
I wonder what people do
When they don’t have
A second language
Having another open door
In which you can communicate
With others
I wonder what people think of
When they eat the rich food
Of my father’s Moby Dick
What kind of history they think of
When they taste the ostentatiously orange saffron
Which stain our replete plates of rice with flavor
Or the Sangak which is cooked on smoldering stones
I wonder what people hear
When they see the beauteous music
My mother plays on the
Ancient Santur
Or what they think
When they see her hit the Mezrab
Onto its gold and silver strings
I wonder what people do
When they learn about new culture
New experience
New life
I wonder why
In second grade
No one knew of my background
Not my class
Nor the first-grade class
Which we presented poems of our culture to
I wonder why
A Persian first grader
Was terrified
To say,
“Are you from Iran?”
I wonder why I can’t say my friend’s name like others do
Why I say it with an accent
Unlike everyone else
I wonder why I am still similar to so many others
Yet so different at the same time
By simply having a background
By having parts of my daily life
Sketched out
I wonder what my combined experience
In my unified life
Of the United States
And the ancient Iran
Can teach others
Written by plumtree
Topics: 2021-22 School Year