By: Anonymous
A note from the poet:
I wrote this after reading “The myth of the lazy native”, a paper by Syed Hussein Alatas on how the British established the identities of the natives in the Malay archipelago. Although enraged, I, like many others, become more resigned to the fact that perhaps the status quo may never change.
her immaculate fingers weave
in and out, creating a figure with God’s gift.
the people of the land.
they come with authority
like divine intervention,
swarms of people
white, yellow, brown,
best, better, good,
never converging.
skin becomes the indicator.
the supposed greater good was not for us,
and so, we were not for them.
thoughts become rooted,
perceptions mingle with facts,
new myths arise.
generations come and go and yet
these myths never change,
we identify with what’s identified.
the tussle between what we are and not
and in these battles we always lose.
