Section 377A [America]
By Janelle Tan
Section 377a is Singapore’s anti-LGBT legislation
back then, at customs,
a window opened—
how are you two related?
wife, i tell them.
a life of affection in a single syllable.
a wail from my lips.
a laugh in your ear.
the window
a fickle border.
wife: a name in one country
but not another.
our name for each other real
within these borders.
i asked you
how you would describe us.
you smiled, then laughed.
i asked: how wide are we?
our countries
the gulf between us.
but with you, i was in america
looking out at other borders.
i thought our mouths
around the same five spoons,
our hands on the same trash,
meant a border around us.
i thought your mouth on mine
meant america was mine
to criticize.
at the airport, we stood in different lines.
you, always waiting with the bags
while they examined every letter on my visa.
my once wife—
i wish for you a woman
with no borders.
i wish for you every window
always open.
Source: Poetry (September 2022)