Poetry

False Positives

by Sarp Sozdinler

The test said I was
53% Middle Eastern
19% Caucasus
0% certainty

and 100% trying
to build a nest out of
mortar and bricks

I scrolled past the map
zoomed in on red clusters
of where I might belong

clicked too fast
left fingerprints on pixels

I told my friend it felt like a scam
she said it was still a story
still a frame

we need something to
hang the body on
I tried using mine
but it slipped

like language does
when you’ve forgotten
the mouth it came from

like my name when
the barista writes Maryan
and calls Marian and I nod
because it’s easier

because I don’t want to
explain the spelling
               the lineage
               the ache

I rewatch old wedding
videos in standard def
the women clapping
hips like prayer

my mother’s voice offscreen,
saying you dance like your aunt

and I think maybe
just maybe
that’s inheritance
not the percentages

but the way I sway
unverified
unbroken

Appeared in Issue Fall '25