Good Asian Girls

Good Asian Girls Daddy says, good girls don't swear. Good Asian girls floss their teeth twice before speaking, make sure the words come out squeaky clean. The first time I said "fuck"Auntie disowned me, cried "embarrassment!", "dishonour!" - sewed the words on my back in red, packed the dust which settled on my bed, and since then I learned to breathe in monotones. Ineloquent tongue stashed behind the altar. But I was never hers or his. This filthy mouth never belonged to anyone, not even myself, and now it wants to say: "The word "fuck" feels more familiar than a parent's love.Some days I swear that I am good enough, asian enough, poet enough. Most days my father is right." It wants to preach: "I bleed eucharist wine and cuss for the hell of it. And so what if nobody believes in me?My body is the New Testament, and I will fucking rise again." It wants to rap: "My pussy tastes like fine-dining and honeycomb dripping with malice, a deity surpassing all religions.My pussy is the prodigal daughter never coming home." Bio: Sade Andria Zabala is the Denmark-based Filipina author of poetry book WAR SONGS. Her writing has appeared on Words Dance, cahoodaloodaling, Up the Staircase Quarterly, and more. Find her at: instagram.com/sadeandriazabala or facebook.com/sadeandriazabala.