Warfare of the Brain

…I dare you to peel back

My thick skin, all my layers:

Feast upon what you find.

Am I what you expected?

Or am I rotten misfortune—

The Aiya! to your mind

You insist biting out of?

Are you ashamed of me?

That I’m only half-human –

Too wàiguó, hybridized –

To be edible in your eyes?

Won’t you try me just once?

Maybe I’m softer, sweeter;

Capable of sizeable growth,

Like every other pasar fruit.

Now who will tell you

I’m just as yellow-white

As your own pisang?

Aiya! - Manglish interjection that can express surprise, annoyance, or frustration

wàiguó - Chinese pinyin spelling for the English word 'foreign'

pasar - the Malay word for 'market'

pisang - the Malay word for 'banana'