on the first of the year i cried b/c the bunny did not come home
my blade for candied apples was rusty god’s own country demanded show me miami!
speaking of the future how will it feel months from now
residual tremors from the quake seeing double
overwhelming evidence of sexual activity i’m a pelican in ur spill
my beak full of poems heaven-sent
existing was relatively painless the alligators showed me mercy
w/o provocation no turning back admiring miró to old-timey tracks
the spiritualists had an unhealthy attachment to sepia there’s something for everyone
i refuse to be foiled by sliding doors skimmed the diversity statement so as to order in-n-out
who gives a shit we’re all going to the same place: in-n-out
when someone u hate asks for a tarot reading
tell ’em this here says ur a bitch [unsheathing shiv] much luv to u & urs
vincent chin has not been beaten by racists in michigan
ur skin reminds me of what i’m not: an oncologist a verb
faded polaroid of mothman harmful to the public health
in many ways a lunatic
karzai comfortably ensconced in falls church mansion
the janitorial staff at his golf course forced to sign NDAs they couldn’t read
part of the restaurant’s ceiling fell in those flapjacks fixed my sadness
close-up bulges on billboards yielded pretty penises full of repetitions
(“ r u packing or r u just a BIG DICK ”) well i may or may not have turned u
into the wrap on a bus elegant boi blinking on & off
promising to make my day saliva carrying no resentments
u might know coco’s camellia but do u know the lion
mouth of a fallen city that knife in the night
quiet mode more like disquiet mode amirite
it’s past ur bedtime shall we sign in or subscribe
every womyn & tender man the dalai lama’s dark mark burning
nothing in the acid bath believe me i looked
for u the shiniest toy in the shop
i may have leaned in to touch it
MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of SYNTHETIC JUNGLE (Northwestern University Press, 2023), TOY SOLDIERS (Action, Spectacle, 2024) & THE HEARTBREAK ALBUM (Coach House Books, 2025). They edit poetry at Fence.
The art that appears alongside this piece is by GRANT RAUN.
