Translation
Grihith Varaday
Sept 2021
When I say Grihith I mean one-of-one. I mean the most original, yet Anglicized combination of letters from both this universe and those afar.
When I say immigrant I mean my accent being the laughing stock of a homogenous classroom.
When I say scriptures I mean morals. I mean to follow, not simply to read.
When I say imbalance I mean turbulence of the mind, soul and everything immunoglobulin.
When I say melanin I mean unlucky. I mean they’re allergic to my race, or so they told me.
When I say confused I mean a doctor wearing a top hat or a banker holding a bloodied scalpel.
When I say craftsman I mean childhood. My arsenal of planes breaking the air with paper creases of varying inaccuracies. I mean they thought I destroyed the Twin Towers.
When I say skin and bones I mean no alley too narrow and every pant size too small.
When I say spicy I mean boredom rarely exists. I mean alternating subjects every two hours and adding crushed red pepper to every dish.
When I say education I mean a single chocolate bar illuminating dozens of smiles.
When I say James Bond I mean digging up foreign soil while downing stroganoff. When I say Big Ben I mean time ticks faster when it's not on your wrist. When I say cricket I mean we beat our colonizers at their own game. When I say there’s no time to die I mean it.
When I say delicate I mean a broken nose and untied shoelaces. I mean a brownie and blood mixing to form a cherry black forest, reminding us of our place.
When I say miser I mean the alien way. I mean a respect for the dollar like no other: always spend your energy before your money.
When I say coconut oil I mean silky, luscious hair and the disgusted looks of peers who relished the very same smell in their piña coladas.
When I say social impact I mean my life’s dream to help my people. Remove the impact — you’re left with just a social. Then forget the last 4 digits and you’re left with me.
And when I say Varaday I mean one-of-one twice more. I mean government incompetence and the unlikely gift of a new name.
Grihith Varaday is from St. Louis, Missouri and studies in the College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.