Illustration by Anderson Lee
How did I get so blue?
Events, free food, and friends galore.
It infects my fingertips and rushes through.
This novelty lasted until nothing was true—
the college kid’s book, now an app of lore.
How did I get so blue
in fandom? At first, a home: these strangers my crew,
every week a new scene to adore,
infecting my fingertips and rushing through.
Binge-watching ruined that shared view.
The app sits unbothered; my busted brain explores
how I did get so blue.
I doomscroll until I become a shrew,
no taming me. I learn 10 things a day, and still I want more.
Infect my fingertips and rush through.
Social media makes each minute news.
Trolls under bridges fight warriors in a never-ending war.
How did I get so blue?
My fingertips infected. It rushed through.
Chanlee Luu is a Vietnamese-Chinese American writer from southern Virginia currently working towards an MFA in creative writing at Hollins University. She received her BS in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia. She writes about identity, pop culture, science, politics, and everything in between. She can be found on Twitter @ChanleeLuu, and her work can be found in Free the Verse, Snowflake Magazine, the gamut mag, Cutbow Quarterly, & Tint Journal.
Anderson Lee is a second-generation Asian Canadian artist and a frequent contributor to Ricepaper Magazine.