I hereby authorize _____________ to:
wear shoes that are comfortable; let white hairs breed
at the temples and ask what hiding them ever brought you;
spoon honey into dark tea; walk when you are tired; chortle;
pair loud ditsy-print pants with even louder ditsy-print tops
in honor of your Chinatown grandma; stop sweating over
how older white men will take it when you say, I don’t think
that’s a good idea; stop thickening your American accent
when speaking English outside America; stop ignoring
your body when it aches, chafes, shivers, or rages;
save your fire, dragon lady, because they already see
the danger in you: there is nothing left to prove. You
are broth that has simmered long enough to pull
marrow out from the bones; fingers callused enough
to hold a lighted match till it burns all the way down.
You have kept that mouth shut for so long. It’s OK
to bite.
–
Jia-Rui Cook is a Chinese-American writer, editor, and producer in Los Angeles. Once a staff writer at the L.A. Times, she is currently a senior communications officer at the California Wellness Foundation. Her poetry has recently appeared in Alta Journal, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Mom Egg Review, Missouri Review, Puerto del Sol, and Only Poems. Jia-Rui is working on her first book of poetry. She can be found on Instagram @funjiable.