by Mohammed Ahmad
Joseph, Usife,
Which name should I choose?
“Don’t you say Usife, or you’ll leave them confused”
Said grandma starkly, crouched up with amuse,
“Remember they don’t like you!” She sneered, chugging her plastic juice
leaving the bottle bruised, I watched her nervously,
As the sun laid back at the dinner table of blues,
Fine China filled up with kisses and achoos.
The violet sky swallowed black,
Crickets drowned by yesterday’s news,
Aunts and Uncles sneering and gocking at the name that I use,
“Which name?” They asked, as I answered back unamused.
“Joseph fits you better, Usife won’t land an interview!”
I gave a broken smile, then peered upon a French painting, decorated with a naked angel
Dancing pretty and fainting, I saw a tiny squiggle of a name I knew,
Squinted my eyes to see “Yassir Yosef” written in baby blue,
They said I’d always be backwards in their eyes, embedded with rue
An Ishmaelite, that Canaanite, this Arab,
I sat there smiling, squinting, blushed and kissed, like that very Boucher Cherub.
Mohammed Ahmad is a Palestinian actor and writer from Colorado. He is currently pursuing his MA in Professional Creative Writing and Poetry at the University of Denver. When he’s not writing or on camera, he enjoys traveling and learning languages. He is currently working on a book of poetry that he intends to publish by May of 2023.