My name is Jung Ran 정란
I was born in Korea
Before I was given away
I wonder if my mother named me
or was it
fabricated-
written in a document to fill in the empty spaces
my tiny body swaddled in a wool blanket
severed from my family
generations lost
who belongs to whom
My name is Jung Ran 정란
I was born in Korea
Thousands of miles away
in my black and white photo maybe
I looked more like a Lisa or Jennifer
a name easier to pronounce
more pleasant, less Asian
My name is Jung Ran 정란
I was born in Korea
And what if I reclaim my name
then will I feel more Korean
to have strangers mispronounce it
tongues knotted and twisted
Jung, not June
Ran sounds like fan
and sometimes they do not
say anything at all
My name is Jung Ran 정란
I was born in Korea
I imagine screaming my name
among the graves of my ancestors
louder and louder
the echoes
vibrating against the raging oceans
rising over the peaks of mountain tops
until I am carried back to my homeland
My name is Jung Ran 정란
before
any other name.