THE LINCOLN REVIEW
Confessions of a minority student
I have forgotten how it all started. success
This tightening of my throat grows success
and I cannot breathe. Suddenly success
college dorms and students’ smiles success
nauseate me. Here where I used to success
imagine a promising life, a new circle success
away from family, honest folks success
who worked and worked, and never lived. success
Choices they never made in their sagging skin, success
the fine lines around their eyes. success
Uni: a mere word, carefree success
for those who can afford it, my dear. success
Who am I to believe in it? success
But I must prove that I too success
am good enough for this game. success
Don’t be so sensitive, you say. success
But even racism in its simplest form success
is brutal, a day-to-day butchering. success
They tell me make yourself at home here success
though today, just like yesterday and success
the day before, no one joins me success
at the dining hall where I sit. success
Who cares about what I think success
as I cube potatoes in silence? success
It is not alright to be lonely.
Jennifer Wong (jenniferwong.co.uk)
Born and grew up in Hong Kong, Jennifer is the author of three collections, including 回家 Letters Home (Nine Arches Press 2020), which has been named the Wild Card Choice by PBS. She studied English at Oxford and received an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She has a Creative Writing PhD from Oxford Brookes where she teaches part-time. She is also a translator, a reviewer and runs the What We Read Now online monthly poetry series. She is currently a writer-in-residence at Wasafiri. ninearchespress.com

ISSN 2632-4423