Duality

By Anonymous

it leers at me,

that sense of duality;

it dusts itself off, and i am both settled and unsettled:

i chip away at tradition and culture with a chisel of indignity

the grime of heritage lines my brow, streaking with sweat

i shape and mold, but it remains wanton

and i wonder:

where is the line within your duality?

between education and pride? ignorance and shame?

a grimace tugs at the corner of my lips;

i cannot meet the eyes of what i create

i bow away from it, embracing clay in one hand

and sand in the other.

 

This poem was submitted by a Moroccan-American high school student from Chicago, Illinois.