I am Pasckie

I am a citizen of a country

with no borders, no airports

no basketball teams or beauty queens

no ceilings, no walls, no floors

and I represent a culture

that converges around a bonfire.

The customs man did not know

how to stamp-pad me

so he just categorized me

as a mixed-up universalist.

I don’t believe in armed revolutions

violent struggles and world wars

I just believe in cheap beers,

open mics, laughters,

peace, love and lots of good food.

The political scientist did not know

how to check me in a box

so he just labeled me

as a pacifist who eats a lot.

I am not a member of any organization,

congregation, aggrupation or hallucination

and I don’t eat wings at Hooters

or play nickel slot machines in Las Vegas

although you can see me anywhere

everywhere whenever whatever.

The activist dude did not know how

to figure me out

so he called me a CIA spy

who doesn’t have a house.

I criticize governments, foreign

policies, politicians who praise

the Lord only on election days,

and Wells Fargo statements

and I refuse to vote or work

at a Wal-Mart store

or attend a Church service.

My good-natured neighbor did not know

what is it that I really want

so he called me

a really confused Communist.

I have these kinda weird cheekbones

and long black hair

and an angry look,

so they called me Cherokee;

Now I have this strange accent

and I eat ramen noodles with a spoon

so they called me a Filipino.

Well, I do not know

what people really want to know

so I just say,

“I am Pasckie!”

–Pasckie Pascua

Asheville, North Carolina

About the author:

PASCKIE PASCUA has read his poetry in various and diverse venues in Asia and the US—mostly in cities where the Traveling Bonfires has organized events: Baltimore, Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and in his home-city of Asheville. A veteran journalist, Pasckie has lectured and taught “people’s theater” (Brechtian/Boal) and community media in the countryside(s) of the Philippines, Japan, Italy, North Carolina, and upstate New York. He published (and edited) the community paper, The Indie, in Asheville (from winter 2000 to fall 2007).

The Traveling Bonfires is a program of closely coordinated, easy-to-mount, budget-friendly community events that advocate a peaceful convergence vibe—as well as family closeness, neighborhood connected-ness, and multi-cultural harmony.