Ask me for my name
On my first day of school
For twelve years
And I’ll tell you my nickname instead
Ask me when I say I’m from down South but you don’t believe me
Because someone with my name couldn’t possibly be American
Ask me when you interview me
And form judgments about what I’m capable of
Ask me when I do a good deed
Because that’s what I’ve been taught
To think of others above myself
And never to see my own individual identity as something to be valued
Or to be the recipient of an “I love you”
Ask me what my name means
And I’ll tell you it means sunshine
It means being an adult before you’re ready
It means nights alone
It means not understanding but having to understand
In a world that doesn’t understand you