ANOUSHKA SWAMINATHAN
land of the free
she and i, we with our chandanam-kumkum-veebudhi stained fingers, we with our tamilannai and thirukkurals, we with our dhoop agarbathi burning, we with our ankle-length pavadais, we with our pongalo pongal and puththaandu vazhtukkaL, we are the ones with hopes of the promised land
she and i, we with our brown skin in white suburbs, we with our red pottus and silver sequins, we with our eppadi solvadhu and isaka kya matlab, we with our joyful dupattas hidden from children’s foreign friends, we are the ones who made it to the promised land
she and i, we with our manors containing all manner of pillar but those from our motherland, we with our mother tongue now unfamiliar on our Western tongues, we with our i totally agree my parents are so weird but don’t worry i’m not like them, we have been passed down a home in the promised land
this promised land is no panacea, no place to raise a brown baby, but now it is all that we know
Anoushka Swaminathan (any pronouns) is a queer Indian-American 8th grader from Northern California. They love reading all genres, but primarily write realistic fiction, horror, and sci-fi, as well as poetry. Their work has previously been published in Ice Lolly Review, YAWP Journal, and Ink Drinkers Magazine, among others. When not reading or writing- so barely ever- xe yearns endlessly, debates anything she can think of, and dreams in Technicolor.