Yellow -- poetry by Estelle Wong

—an often neglected color:

Too bright, too happy

Too loud, too unsanitary

(Disease, disdain, discontent)

The stain we Chinese bear

From decades of peril and paranoia

Xenophobia and racism

The color white faces wear

When they want to be us

But my family name

黃

Comes from 黃色,

The color of gold—goldfinches,

Goldenrods and marigolds

And goldworks

And my nickname, Sol, 

Comes from the rays

Of the sun

Of emperors and crowns

Of brick roads and lamp streets

Of sunflowers and daisies

Yellow is not a fragile color

It is the omen of thunderstorms,

The robes of royalty

The feathers of a phoenix’s fortune

But yellow can be gentle too

It is the flicker of birthday candles,

And the glimmer of far-off stars

And the blossoming of dandelions

If you asked 

What color would I be

I would say my answer with pride

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Estelle Wong is an aspiring novelist-poet-screenwriter-playwright-whatever who enjoys writing (duh), Legend of Zelda knitting and crochet, theater, history and tabletop roleplaying games. She’s won Chicagoland contests before and even worked with the CTA to produce a poetry video. Currently a high school senior, she’s excited to pursue a future in the creative industries.