Jiwon Choi
Jiwon Choi is the author One Daughter is Worth Ten Sons and I Used To Be Korean, (published by Hanging Loose Press). She is an early childhood educator at the Educational Alliance where she works with children and teachers on developing emergent curriculum. She is a longtime urban gardener and coordinator at the Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Garden where she started her garden’s first poetry reading series, Poets Read in the Garden, to support local poets with live reading events in a safe, outdoor space. You can find out more about her at iusedtobekorean.com.
An Insect in Utopia
I was told I could be hereI could take off my shoes hereI was told I could roll my ball of dung up the hill hereI was told I could toss my peanut shellson the ground hereI was told I could choose the seven stages of griefto undergo here start my simple metamorphosis and grow out of my sophomore exo-skeleton herebypass the nymph and tweenhood yearsI was told I could rip the head off my mate hereI was told I will go through at least three sheddings before achieving perfect symmetry heremy head impaled on to my thorax with an abdomen that lights up at the mention of potato chips especially the sour cream and onion kind I was told no one will be jealous of me hereand that I will be taken seriously
I was told this is utopia
I was told this is utopia