Illustration by Samantha Louie-Poon
In nursing school
we learn the anatomy
of the human body;
memorizing all the
bones and muscles
that work in tandem
to move us through life.
Among these books
so much is forgotten
about the anatomy of
the Asian woman-
Neglecting
every crescent moon eyes
gifted from our ancestors;
every arrow and wound
silently lingering
as we walk along earth’s surface;
Implying that
the erasure of our being
is best when it’s ignored. Denying
the strength radiating
out of our every fiber
as a silent community
of oppressed. The anatomy of the
Asian woman
remains gutted and
disguised as a model for those
nursing anatomy texts
Samantha Louie-Poon is a settler of Chinese ancestry based in Edmonton, AB. As a nurse, researcher, and writer, Samantha is passionate about storying the untold narratives of the Asian diaspora in so-called Canada. Samantha is currently a PhD student at the University of Alberta where she is documenting the experiences of anti-Asian racism using storytelling methods. Through poetry, Samantha explores concepts of Asianness, belonging, and erasure, and invites readers to contemplate these tensions within taken-for-granted spaces.