A Lament
for Feng Daoyou
MAYLIN TU No one claimed her body Strangers attended her funeral We will not be erased. We condemn the dehumanization of Asian women Seen and unseen Invisible and hyper-visible Body as object Existing for the white male gaze We will not be erased. She did not owe you anything She did not owe you her body She did not owe you her life She did not deserve to die We will not be erased. Her body was not a temptation I am someone’s ancestor My body is not a temptation She was someone’s ancestor We will not be erased. We bear witness to the pain of rejection We bear witness to the pain of loneliness We bear witness to the pain of objectification and fetishization We will not be erased. We are not foreigners to you, God
56