Self-portrait as particle / protozoa
by Grace
Phagocytosis (n): from the Ancient Greek φαγεῖν (phagein) 'to eat’ and κύτος (kytos) 'cell.’
The process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm).
Some protozoa use phagocytosis as means to obtain nutrients.¹
Prince Edward
“Hong Kong became a British colony through two wars: the First and Second Opium Wars...
The British were smuggling opium from their Indian colonies into Chinese ports against the wishes of the Chinese government. This was to help pay for the large amounts of Chinese tea that they were importing – by the early 1800s, tea was a popular drink with the British public.”²
Wellington Street
Graham Street
Every day I wake up, more English
engulfing my Cantonese. It grows
like mold in the walls.
I grope for words
in the dark,
curse my language
Lower Albert Road
for not having an immune response. Wyndham Street
Chancery Lane
***
"If the Philippines are annexed, what is to prevent the Chinese, the Negritos and the Malays
coming to our country? How can we prevent the Chinese coolies from going to the
Philippines and from there swarm into the United States and engulf our
people and our civilization?” – Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of
Labor, arguing against American imperialism in 1898.³
Old Bailey Street
Elgin Street
Caine Road
Seymour Road
Stanley Street
The enemy of my enemy
is sometimes still (regrettably)
my enemy.
Pottinger Street
Great George(!) Street
When we misbehaved, Gloucester Road
my grandma would threaten us Kingston Street
Don’t make me send you away Paterson Street
to 做咕喱, knowing Caroline Hill Road
we knew nothing Hennessy Road
of railroads or coolies Thomson Road
or why we called them men of Stubbs Road
bitter strength—a bluff, honest Leighton Hill Road
and empty. Kennedy Road
Colton Path
Harcourt Road
“Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land. The foreigners
who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and
lower.”⁴
The collective noun for immigrants is
a plague
or a curse,
take your pick.
Northumberland Avenue
Mansfield Road
Bonham Road
Des Voeux Road Central
Nathan Road
I have been reaching
through memory and marrow
to free us from our cells
Victoria Harbour
Salisbury Road
“Samuel Gompers (Samuel Gumpertz) was born in the Spitalfields area of London... The
family immigrated to the United States in 1863 and settled in New York City..”⁵
Chatham Road Robinson Road
Guess that’s how it happens,
one day you just wake up
and there’s a Soho near Sheung Wan,
afternoon tea in HK diners,
Queen Elizabeth II all over your money.
Baker Street
On sunny days, I lay back
my membrane glimmering and nucleus content.
I watch a cloud eat another cloud
without a care in the world.
¹en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phagocytosis
²nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/hong-kong-and-the-opium-wars/
³Quote from a speech delivered at the Chicago Peace Jubilee, Oct. 18, 1898
⁴Deuteronomy 28:42-43, New International Version
⁵guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/january/labor-leader-samuel-gompers-born
ABOUT THE CREATOR
Grace (she/they) is a Hong Kong-born Chinese-Canadian settler living on the traditional and Treaty territory of the Anishinabek people, now known as the Chippewa Tri-Council comprised of the Beausoleil, Rama, and Georgina Island First Nations. She has been published in The Malahat Review, Contemporary Verse 2, Grain Magazine, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collection was longlisted for a Lambda Literary Award, and her sophomore collection is forthcoming with Anvil Press.
Website: grace-writes.com
Instragram: @thrillandgrace