“I Am What I Am”

“I Am What I Am”
By: Marya Altaf

I am a child of the Asia’s.
I am an immigrant of the Americas.
I am a Pakistani Muslim and an American citizen.

Two different cultural groups
in my life make me feel like a diverse person.
There are 7 different continents of the world, and
I only belong to three of them.

My identity is like my only true identity,
that I am a Pakistani Muslim American Citizen.
I am North America and I am South America,
I am 100% Pakistani and I am part of Asia.

I grew in the states, the cities, the towns, the
homes, the soil, the trees, the lakes, the rivers, the clear sky
where the stars accompany me at night, and the fresh smell
of the flowers blooming in the beautiful meadows of my
native country.

Now I see not the meadows, the lakes and
the rivers, but instead I see buildings, bridges and tunnels,
and it seems as if the stars have solemnly departed and left
me alone in solitude.