Sara Eastler

Song of Anna May Wong

And so it came to pass that I carried

a lantern in that first film, uncredited,

the way women were see-through as wind—  

orchestrating the flapping of flags, propelling

sails across seas. The way Bits of Life handed

me a baby and husband after years of rice

paper roles to see, finally, my silent name

in print. The way stardom burned

beyond the Hollywood lighthouse, scattering

crushed diamonds, sharp-edged

and glittering in gowns like a well-lit

sea. Beware the siren call of men in suits,

of growing beyond the island that tames

your imported fruit. I was too Chinese

to play a Chinese, too forbidden fruit

to kiss a moon-faced man. But roles

and tides reverse course— so produce

what the heart must and shed the dragon

skin to embrace the pomelo’s yellow.

Sara Lynn Eastler is a poetry editor for Qu Literary Review & freelance contributor to the Southern Review of Books. Find her work: Passengers Journal, Anodyne, Bangalore Review & saralynneastler.com

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