Definition
-- Subuhi Jiwani
Immigritude (is)
sitting in the Queens public library in a shimmeringly summer,
sun-colored salwar kameez, asking the woman at the circulation
desk for a pair of scissors
and being denied.
Immigritude (is)
ponderance on the possibility that her response is subconscious:
subconsciously racist,
unconsciously un-knowing.
of the fact that
"ethnic" garb (is not equal to)
a lack of education
a spice-smelling home
an unfinished accent.
Immigritude (is not)
a stubborn adherence to tradition,
clichéd nostalgic rememberings or
a medieval desire to protect the female body.
Immigritude (is)
a state of unknown racism;
the non-exclusivist "keep you culture in your four walls"
attitude.
Immigritude (is)
the expectation of zipped up tongues and pro-establishment, assimilationist
lifestyles.
Immigritude (is)
the encasement of Muslim prayers in a windowless jamaat khaana:
a diasporic utopia aligned with stars and stripes,
a community space for suffra and seera.
Immigritude (is)
the observation of others' observation of you.
Immigritude (is)
checking "Other" on the census and filling in Indian.
Immigritude (is)
viewing project Anaconda, Enduring Freedom and Infinity as killing
machines of people who are
Muslim on paper and do not subscribe to Al-Qaida ideology.
Immigritude (is)
the knowledge that Islam envelopes you without permission post
9-11,
that Allah is the extension of a political identity,
that the Imam is a humanitarian and a philanthropist before he
is a spiritual leader.
Immigritude (is)
a division of self into slices across geographical areas, disparate
locales and regional news services.
Immigritude (is)
more at home in Queens, most a stray cat's second skin on Manhattan
streets, least welcome in INS prisons.
Immigritude (is)
an incarnation of personality; a breathing baby, an anxious mother,
a corporate junkie, an anarchist
fighting Muslim-hating Zionism.
Immigritude (is)
a falling leaf, slanted rays of sunlight at dusk, rainy days and
overflowing gutters.
Immigritude (is)
a bitter tablet, ungainly cough syrup, dal chawal and an employment
authorization card.
Immigrtidue (is)
a non-understanding of the world that we dust off like invisible
particles;
explode into like titanium bulbs.
Immigritude (is) knowledge.
Immigritude (is) poverty.
Immigrtiude (is) Jackson Heights.
Immigritude (is) Kebob King.
Immigritude (is) INS detention.
Immigritude (is) life.
Immigritude (is) here.
__________________________
Subuhi Jiwani is a freelance journalist and a prose-poet of Indian
origin living in New York City. Her journalistic work can be found
at http://www.worldwar3report.com.
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