“Act I” by Viola Tian
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Act I” by Viola Tian.
Act I
By Viola Tian
The year I moved to Canada / at 19 /
an MRI came back / with hollow bones /
strung together like beads / tight / strings / yet to be
struck / with a love song
At a university dorm / a / white / boy / splashed / his favorite
gin & tonic / all over my body / then his searching hands /
I went dark / like the lights in his room / More of him /
came / to watch me harden into ice / his fingers calloused
from gripping / the opening act
Cacophony / in between my leafy thighs / my shaky voice
drowned / now ghosts in my throat / & in his conscience /
He laughed & told me to stop faking / innocence
I bet you like white guys just like all the other Asian sluts
& just like that / I am muted
You / opened me up / like an envelope / inside /
a checklist / for your coronation / the morning never
came / the way your crown did / a treacherous
victory / In the hall / all your white / college buddies /
applauded your ascendence / to the throne / But do they know
the only difference between a king and a tyrant is
undeserved power / Another stolen artifact on your / white /
shelf / When the police came / you told them it was just a
rehearsal / I was just / too curious / about my timber
& begged you / to / finish / the whole act
Me paper-thin / easily folded in half /
into nothing / repeat / repeat / Wind makes a
blast through my exposed / white / bones /
You hope I bury them / I hope / your fingers bleed
Forgetting is an option for you / but not for me
Copyright © Viola Tian
Viola is a writer, strategist, and DEI leader exploring identity, trauma, resilience, and belonging. A first-generation Chinese-Korean immigrant, she navigates cultural displacement while amplifying the immigrant experience. Her writing unveils the raw realities of gender, race, and power—where love, grief, and loss intersect with cultural expectations and self-reclamation. Through poetry, she captures the turbulence of navigating two worlds, the weight of heartbreak and healing, and the vulnerabilities of womanhood and relationships.
Subscribe to Poetry Pause, or support Poetry Pause with a donation today!