perfectly imperfect

Artwork by Rita Chen, staff artist

By Myesha Phukan

are you the sharp-tongue?

the cutting-edge sarcasm weaving its way out of your mouth without a thought?

are you the ever so neat room,

the strategic way vines wrap around your bookcase?

are you the multitude of stacks in which precious stories are kept?

the careful groupings of fantasy and not?

are you the medley of pressed flowers used to pause the adventure?

are you the tiny bursts of light sparking out from the firecrackers on Diwali?

the diamond-shaped treasures covered in silver that fill your mouth with wonder?

are you the sequins lining the edges of the hordes of lehengas,

or the bright colors that make them?

are you the perfect dark orange swirls that adorn fingers and hands?

or the golden piece of jewelry that hangs on the forehead?

are you the gentle ripple of mother-tongue,

or the way that it sometimes slips out instead of English?

are you the annual seemingly never-ending plane ride?

the too-small screen, always riding the movements of the person in front of you?

are you the thrill that ignites when the aircraft lands?

the fingers digging into armrests?

are you the woman I would do anything for?

the one who gave up her life to raise me into who I am today?

are you the glimmer of positivity always reserved for me?

the painstaking way in which she remembers every detail of the day,

the hour-long talks in bed drifting into the dead of night?

are you the father who would do anything for me? are you the late nights spent working through math on the dining table together?

are you the bedtime stories told while leaning on his shoulder?

the lengthy workout videos he never said no to doing?

everyone is a puzzle.

are you the perfectly imperfect puzzle that is me?

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Contributor's Note: Myesha Phukan is a 14-year old writer currently living in the Bay Area. Her work is forthcoming or featured in Stanford Anthology for Youth, Teen Ink Magazine, and Live It Up Mag. When she's not writing, she can be found editing pieces for Footprints on Jupiter Literary Magazine, or adding to her already huge book collection.

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