I am not as I appear—I am an imitator. Every word I sayis the result of close study. My expressions, gestures, posturesare copied from actors in the movies. Each appearanceis a performance. My clothes, my car, my home, my wifehave been chosen for their effects. If I am not an American,at least I am like Americans in this. I arise from nothingand I leave nothing behind. My people are murdered,my homeland is abandoned, my language is forgotten,my religion is empty without its place and people,the skills that I took so much patience to learnare useless now. New skills, new faith, new language, new places,new people—I cast out the bad as well as the good.If there’s anything I want to save, then I must keep it deep inside.I have shaped myself like clay and hardened it in fire.The kiln grows hotter, and everything that burns is lost.