Mispronounce

Mispronounce
Yussra MT Ebrahim
1/2/2014

when introducing myself
in this country
I mispronounce my own name
on purpose
I distort the pretty Arabic vowel
into an over-emphasized
noise
this makes the letters that follow sound awkward
still I do it
I never really wanted a nickname
but I pronounce my own
in the only way you can
so as to not inconvenience you
I give up my name
to save you a sweat
I give up my name
to prevent you from having to ask a second question
I’m not complaining
I’m the one who has stopped fighting
the inability of a foreign tongue
to mimic my own
you can say my name wrong
as a fellow human being
I’m just happy you care to say it