"Police did not attribute any motive, but the attack raised fears that it might have been driven by hatred and bias against Asian-Americans, which has soared since the start of the pandemic last year." - Financial Times, 17 March 2021 My grandmother scared me with stories of insects crawling into my ear at night, taking up residence there, hissing orders or insults. I hear them again tonight—spit of rifle fire saying flip or gook, monkey, no good, whore, go back to where you belong. My grandmother gave me a silver spoon thin as a hairpin, its handle scrolled like a curling ribbon, the shallow bowl at its end smaller than the eye of a fish but brighter. Keep your ears clean, she said. Don't muffle the sound so you can see exactly where it's coming from.
Purveyors of fine poetry since 2003.