lineage ii

by Victoria Reyes

A piece that takes the form of the family tree. At the top of the family tree is grandma, "black sheep of her family / matriarch of her own" married to her is B1 "monsters are real". The other descendants of the family tree are described as follows, from left to right: 1) B1 "monsters are real", connected to mom, both of whom are linked to the poet. The mom's connective line goes off the page, purposefully unconnected 2) "Filipino White Black" with T1 "called me munchkin / in letters from jail". Described as "secrets / drenched / in color" 3) "the outside world" with B2 "taught me how to gently brush O's hair". Described as "condemns his violence / but not its origins / i remember his gentleness" 4) "girlfriend pregnant at 16" with B3 "stopped talking to me / after my 2nd book". Describd as "different path: now engineer / just don't look / under the surface" 5) "cis heteronormative family" with L1, the "baby of the family". Described as "living in isolated bubble / American Dream unlocked / happily ever after achieved::"

Victoria Reyes (she/her) is a poet, scholar, and author of the award-winning books Global Borderlands: Fantasy, Violence, and Empire in Subic Bay, Philippines and Academic Outsider: Stories of Exclusion and Hope. Her poetry appears or is forthcoming in Writers Resist, La Piccioletta Barca, and Red Flag Poetry, among others. She’s written for The Washington Post, LA Times, The Conversation, and Inside Higher and received support from the American Association of University Women, Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and National Science Foundation, among others. She is a 2025 VONA fellow.