“How to Build a Nation”

I grew up on a different ocean / it lashed
against me and bore its salt into my brown
skin / I stole anchors from its waves and
dug them into my flesh / blood will flow for
anything if you sharpen it enough /

my heart fell out of my chest / living things
grow into each other if you leave them alone
long enough / suddenly there were roots
groping the earth and my blood was woven
into them / the ground was soaked /

a poem does not know it is a poem until
you slice it in half / my body did not know
it was rootless / the nice lady on the tram
told me my flowers would last longer if I
salted the water I left them in /

a native does not know you are a native
too if you still look twice before crossing
the street / flowers will shrivel and turn to
earth if they are severed from their roots /
unless you turn stems to anchors
and allow them to grow them anew /

Umang Kalra is a Senior Freshman in History. She spends her time procrastinating, reading, looking at art online, watching weird and wonderful videos on YouTube, and learning how to adult. She sometimes also writes. Her favourite writers include Kaveh Akbar, Ruskin Bond, Paige Lewis, and Zeina Hashem Beck. She is being mentored in poetry by Doireann Ní Ghíofrá.

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