Independent Poem 4: Jasmine

Escola America de Brasilia

I remember a city far from here

in a school full of white folk

On the auditorium entrance
written in red the words,
- "Unity in Diversity"

I never felt more 'Indian'
than I did in that school.

The giggles in the background
as the Japanese girl read out loud,

Her Japanese to English dictionary
was an extension of her

She learnt English within a month.

Here our accents
mattered more than our efforts

I read 'unity in diversity'
and thought, what a load of crap

Risa, you taught me hard-work
And Escola Americana de Brasilia,
you taught me not unity,
only divide, only divide.