Photo by Guy Grandjean
blue button-down soaked
rubbing buddha’s belly
truth in pieces
brodsky recording a jingle
merwin whistling for his life
‘i give u divorce on the thames’
get off ur miniature horse
he farted in my presence
poetry won’t change a thing
we don’t discuss diaspora
students focused on noodles
the governor happened to be a chinese
giving the frat boy (also chinese) head
hard as he tried
he couldn’t locate a carpet in the right shade
his fingers found their way up the trim of her coat
how are our boys doing in indochina ?
a townhouse & huge tax bill, thanks
separation anxiety & leche
karens running rife, retirement village
no visitors, telescope out of order
yikes, what did i tell u ?
it will auto-renew
i hit the brakes too late
Michael Chang (they/them) is the author of many volumes of poetry, including SYNTHETIC JUNGLE (Northwestern University Press, 2023), TOY SOLDIERS (Action, Spectacle, 2024), and THINGS A BRIGHT BOY CAN DO (Coach House Books, 2025). Their work has appeared in such publications as AGNI, the American Poetry Review, the Harvard Review, the Iowa Review, and POETRY. They live in Manhattan.