I think there’s an unfortunate assumption among younger Americans that poetry is from and for old, dead, white men when, in fact, poetry has such a rich history. With that in mind, I want to kick off an ExpectAsian series titled “Asians Do Poetry Too!”, where I upload recordings of my reading both my own poetry and the works of great Asian American poets. This first one is an original piece titled “Sleeping Dog”. I’ve included the text of the poem along with a photo of the Ozarks, where I grew up.
Sleeping Dog
The foothills of the Ozarks
move at night
when nobody is watching,
except for me.
This Arkansas countryside
has never done me any favors
while it has been awake.
I have always feared
the way it could envelope
all of me with a single breath
like some great wolf.
The boy from which I grew
is still stuck between the teeth
of the Ozarks, waiting for the eastern
sundown to deliver him beyond
the horizon.
When the night comes,
he will be the only witness
to the secrets of this landscape,
unfolding in the tongue of mutts.
Find Vol. 2 of the series by Iqra Tabassum here.
