I wrote this poem on January 15 as a way to process my impeding move from China to the U.S. in June. On January 19, I left China for what I thought was going to be 11 days in the US. However, due to the coronavirus, I’m still in the U.S., 50 days later, unsure of my return date. This poem has become even more meaningful to me as I am stuck in this limbo and creating a new normal for myself, all the while waiting to return home so that I can say goodbye to it again. –Kathryn Vasquez
This place.
Always
A celebrity.
An “other.”
A goddess.
A ghost.
And double takes.
This place.
Culture, Community, and
Collective care.
Beautifully broken belonging.
Me in this place.
Is it assimilation or appropriation?
Stress or regrets?
Shock or roadblocks?
Hurting or healing?
This place.
Brokenly beautiful belonging.
How do I tell of the heartaches and headaches?
That suffocating darkness that
Sat on my chest
And almost consumed me?
How do I tell of that light?
It lifted me out
And washed over me in a waterfall of acceptance.
How do I tell of triumph and joy?
Of restoration and worthiness?
Of heartbreak?
Of the cycle of happiness and pain?
Of sleepless nights?
Of peace that passes all understanding?
Of quiet waters?
Of identity?
Of rest?
How do I tell of
Beautifully belonging to the broken?
How do I take:
What I have learned?
Who I was?
Who I’ve become?
And go to a place where
I can never be who I was
Nor can I be who I am.
What will I become in
That place,
Broken, without beautiful belonging?
But I have a consolation,
A hope,
A star to follow through this night.
What I’ve become.
Who I’ve become.
Whose I’ve become.
The very things to give me strength for the journey ahead.
As I go to that place of beautifully broken belonging.
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Kathryn Vasquez has taught English in China since 2011. She enjoys reading, writing, photography, and traveling. She will be moving back to the US in June, but China has forever changed her.
