<html aria-label="message body"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Standup Sonnet</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;"> </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Imported, my given name barely sounds</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">like the Arabic. I barter two selves</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">on my passport. Border control doesn’t</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">look up. I, civil, lift my arms, balance.</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">I correct my presence, my moniker:</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">pronounced as Zeina, which means adornment,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">not Zenia, which stands for adulteress, </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">though I never said I’d be loyal. It’s </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">terrible, I know, this reading error. </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">That a hummingbird flies to a lightbulb</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">in search of nectar. Isn’t it reckless,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">my immigration to the wrong language</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">now that the banks collapsed? It’s magical</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">how my daughters’ accent is gone. Haha. </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">How my daughters’ accent is gone, haha,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">now that the banks collapsed. It’s magical,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">my immigration to the wrong language</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">in search of nectar. Isn’t it reckless,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">that a hummingbird flies to a lightbulb?</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Terrible, I know, this reading error.</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Though I never said I’d be loyal, it’s </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">not Zenia, which stands for adulteress. </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Pronounced as Zeina, which means adornment, </span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">I correct my presence, my moniker.</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">Look up: I, civil, lift my arms, balance</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">on my passport. Border control doesn’t like</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">the Arabic I barter. Two selves,</span><br style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-size: 22px;">imported. My given name barely sounds. </span><div style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></span></div><div style="font-size: 22px;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Zeina Hashem Beck</span></div></div></body></html>