Valerie Wu
Phonics for Sound
American education says phonics is good, great.
Pronounce the word “cat” like
“cat” & say the word “dog” like
“dog.” Practice phonics by reading Peter Rabbit out loud.
In America, phonics is different from grammar though–
don’t get the two confused. If
you learn phonics, you’ll have to start with
the Hooked on Phonics books, a series. You pronounce “series” like
“see-rees.” Sometimes, the way you spell out how a word sounds
is different from the word itself. Sometimes, the letters have different sounds individually combined they’re all the same.
If they’re combined, there’s only one way to pronounce them.
My mother, foreigner. Her tongue, heavy
with words left unsaid. Words hungry
for meaning. Dog takes one apple, cat takes two.
How many are left?
People say she’s an ih-muh-grant (build a fence, build a wall)
but the way they say it sounds so bad
consonants grating like a knife on chalkboard.
Others laugh when thick English tumbles out, chewed-up.
Molasses. Never forget. No one
hears your voice until you speak up.
Speak up. Living on the margins but being
undefined. America, the beautiful. Sounded so
nice, so pure. So good. Not anymore. Feel
the words rising from your throat
& spilling out. Feel / the sound of
a nation
& listen.
Valerie Wu is a Chinese American student at Presentation High School in San Jose, CA. She was a National Gold Medalist in the 2017 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and her writing has previously been featured in the Huffington Post, Alexandria Quarterly, Project GirlSpire, and more. Find her on Twitter @valerie_wu.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.
If you want to support the mission and work of Indolent Books, consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Indolent Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity.
Join our mailing list to receive news, updates, and special offers from Indolent Books.