first boy​

Issue 5

I was born into a culture 
that preferred “boys” 
so as a baby,
I was dressed in suits 
and baseball caps 

until they called me by my brother’s name 
at the dentist’s office
in a mix-up 

I guess I also wanted 
that false truth,
kind of,
but I’m not sure 
if it was my own thinking 
or one spoon fed, 
airplane pantomiming and all 

but to this day
I refer to myself
as the man of the house, 
so that I feel important 
and then my family laughs. 

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MI NGUYEN is a 26-year-old writer who was born to immigrant parents from Vietnam, and raised in the Caribbean enclave of Flatbush, Brooklyn. In her early 20s, Mi was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and other debilitating chronic conditions, for which she raises awareness through her writing.

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