The Other Side of Myself

On Being a Third-Culture Person

“Where are you from?”

Well that depends. How long do you have?
There are many houses but few homes
Many travels but one journey
To the center of the answer
Hidden both from you and me
An answer that takes time
How long do you have?

“Time? Well, let’s a more efficient route: Who are you?”

Who am I? Such importunity!
Should the mink bite or swim sleekly in his coat?
For behind the warm fur burrows an Arctic answer:

I’m the octagon in your square/round world
The curious bird in your category’s cage
The favored knickknack on your chosen shelf
Forbidden to show the other side of myself

Okay, I’ll help you out, craft the answer quick.
Shrink the post before you scroll on
Gadding from thread to reel
With full plates and irons in the fire

“Sorry, what were you saying again?”

I labor to format my thought to your frame
Reduce the size to fit your RAM
To stop your spinning beach ball stare

“I watched Apple News on where you live
Got the scoop from that TikToker’s tour
Skateboarded the sights in two days—
I’ll fix you some Tin Roof. Make yourself at home.”

But I’m not at home.
I’m in the library of overlooked nuances
Dithering over books you’ll never read
And no soul’s checked out since Tom Hanks was in school
And Cliff Notes were the golden rule

My turn again: Are you for Manchester or Liverpool?

“I don’t know. It’s been a while since Gray’s Anatomy.”

I watched Al Nassr triumph over Al Hilal last night. Ronaldo, you know.

“Is that a story from the Holy Land? A Catholic thing?
Sorry, I’m not religious except in sports.”

Pardon me, but do you have khao soi?

“Yes, cows and soy are staples here
In the heartland—Alexa, volume 4—
Let’s try once more: Who are you?”

I’m the Rubik’s and you’re the genius
There’s a side you haven’t seen

“Sorry, can we keep this conversation
At sea level please? Burnout’s going ’round, you know
My neurons need a reboot before we deep dive.
I’ve heard that matcha’s good for the medulla oblongata
Or eucalyptus oils on temples when the moon is blue.”

The cues sufficiently understood, I take my leave
And navigate the common cosmos
For the one friendly solar system
At the center of the clouded swirl
Where lights reveal a constellation
Formed by lines I found and drew
Where tears and breath and silent space
Flow freely to a place known
Only to me and the Love that moved the stars

© Kurt Mähler