woman of colour (manifest)

it’s a shame how often i’ve longed to be invisible. as an oh so visible minority, my presence is always  noticed — except of course, where it matters (like queen bey said, “f you pay me”). there is no cloak  strong enough to shield people like me from the consequences of difference. consequences that  range from the blood-boiling indignity of being called a “china doll,” to the sudden and life-ending.  so while i know there’s no escaping the gaze of those who see me as other, i refuse to be complicit  in my erasure. i’m done with making myself small, censoring my curves and drowning my body in  neutrals. i’m gonna stand defiant, wear the colours of the tropics and collect stares like diamonds.  

- woman of colour (manifest)

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Valerie Wong (Instagram: @theglutenfreepoet) was born in Toronto, raised in Hong Kong and lives in New York. As a Third Culture Kid, she is a local and a foreigner wherever she goes. Her poetry has been published by journals and anthologies around the world, including Stanford University’s Mantis, the League of Canadian Poets and New Zealand’s Blackmail Press. She is currently seeking representation for her debut romance novel, The Sweetest Deal.