Maxine Hong Kingston - Woman Warrior lyrics

“The swordsman and I are not so dissimilar. May my people understand the resemblance soon so that I can return to them. What we have in common are the words at our backs. The idioms for revenge are “report a crime” and “report to five families.” The reporting is the vengeance – not the beheading, not the gutting, but the words. And I have so many words – “chink” words and “gook” words too – that they do not fit on my skin” (53).