This poem is the reflections of two Indian girls with the exact same name from different countries – one from her native Bombay and the other from born in America.
Born In Bombay (two girls)
I.
Amruta hates her exotic name.
She wants to be called Amanda or Amy
or something more common like that.
She hates her mahogany skin.
She wants to be beige or brown – not
so different from all her friends.
She hates her mouth and tongue. They
speak awkward Hindi at home and
smile timidly behind bright lipstick.
She hates all the people who think she is not like them
who stare at her hijab
who can’t say her name
who make her a curiosity.
She hates that her gods
(strong beautiful powerful gods)
are misunderstood because
they did not hang on a cross.
Amruta thinks maybe things would be different
if she had been born
in Bombay.
II.
Amruta hates her common name.
She wants to be called Amanda or Amy
or something exotic like that.
She hates her mahogany skin.
She wants to be beige or brown – not
the same as all her friends.
She hates her mouth and tongue. They
speak awkward English at school and
long to smile fearlessly through bright lipstick.
She hates all the people who think she is like them
who can’t see past their hijabs
who can’t say their feelings
who have no curiosity.
She hates that her gods
(strong beautiful powerful gods)
misunderstood and
trapped her in this land.
Amruta thinks maybe things would be different
if she had not been born
in Bombay.
April 2010
Currently there are no comments related to "Born in Bombay (Two Girls)". You have a special honor to be the first commenter. Thanks!
Welcome to Authspot, the spot for creative writing.
Read some stories and poems, and be sure to subscribe to our feed!
