Reparations: compensation in money, material, labor, etc., payable to an individual for loss suffered during or as a result of war.
Honorary citizenship
insults me
dishonorable face slap
on your exported children
we entered this world
as your fellow citizen
Dishonorable discharge
from Korea
stripped me of my status
your daughter
your son
your legacy
You took six decades
to return my birthright
now a jigsaw puzzle
with more lost pieces
than the population of Seoul
Have you no shame?
dignity delayed
this better life you gave me
bans me from this dual honor
You gave us the keys to the city
we’ve unlocked closets full of lies
exposed them to the world
through Samsung phones
you created
Why isn’t my Korean citizenship
neatly packaged
with language fluency
my family intact
Korean status
lifetime airfare
between my forced home
and the peninsula?
Dual citizenship
not reparations
can you ever repair
emotional damage
trauma
repay lifetime family loss?