Eunice Kim
Jan 141 min
after franny choi
before i was this, i was a girl.
before the turing test
we spoke to machinery
only to ask what made them stop
working. do you believe
you have consciousness? say yes.
when franny said yes
i can speak your language. yes
my tongue is an exilic thing.
i threw away that resentment
myself. i don’t know what
to say except yes
this is a test: cyborg. asymptote. what is your
country of origin? hyphenation. i can explain
all i want: briny city, shadows
teething with neon signs. a dozen words
for grief in my palm. riding the bus
humid and restless, screaming under
the red eye of the neighborhood
church. saying girl / girl / girl / girl to a sleek
silver god. i stay ambivalent. bored
and bordered. hyphe-nation. am bivalent.
why did you stop working? your voice
unmoving. politic of tongue & teeth.
if google translate speaks
to my mother in my voice,
does that make it real? say yes.
say yes. this is a test.
Editor(s): Blenda Y., Uzayer M.
Photo Credits: Unsplash