On Being Arab

by Dana Cherif

I remember being so ashamed of my beautiful mother tongue

And replacing her with English,

Which was to my eyes much more modern, much cooler

Yes, mom, I would answer to mom’s beautiful flow of words

Intricately beautiful and soft as silk, shades of fine purple and gold,

Proud of my English and shying away from my own culture and heritage.

English was spoken by the cool kids on TV

By Jakes and Hannahs and Mileys,

A flow of English lathered with a heavy American accent.

Who the hell spoke Arabic,

Apart from my weird, extraterrestrial parents?

Years of self-inflicted acculturation and whitewashing:

One fine sunny day I had just decided

I would stop speaking Arabic.

The word arabe in French is interesting.

Its sound evokes art and arabesques and lovely mosaics.

It reminds me of the beauty of Arabic,

My culture and mother tongue

That today, I finally embrace.