Rare Books & Special Collections, UBC Library
You can sign away my dignity underneath the bleeding crown of your pen,
Brand me with a dominion certificate, like a choker on a dog, Mark my
existence as nothing but inferiority and money, But we will not follow.
You can yell “yellow peril” underneath the seams of your littered tongue,
Shove me onto a tightrope of legalized hatred,
Rip my family from the veins of my throbbing heart,
But we will not follow.
July 1 will no longer be “Humiliation Day,”
Underneath the legacy of xenophobia,
But instead a catalyst for our resurgence.
We will rise from the embers of your contempt,
Pluck away each splinter of ingrained bigotry,
To stride with resolute courage.
Danika Liu is an aspiring Canadian poet whose work explores themes challenging the status quo. She enjoys leading several youth-led initiatives, including the Youth Writers’ Workshop Association and Rethink Magazine. Her writing has been recognized by the John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition, Scholastic Writing Awards, and Kenyon Young Writers Workshop. Her purpose is to explore the unknown, undiscovered, and unsaid. When she is not leading projects or dabbling in poetry, she can be found out and about.