MICHAEL CHANG
鬼地方 UNHOLY PLACE
u try so hard for everyone else, wut abt doing something for urself
google search: charlie puth height
brodsky claimed that birds in poems = the poet themselves
more likely: birds in poems = carl phillips
i’d rather get squished by a tank than write abt tiananmen
shush, sanctimonious cathy
change the label, still sewage in a bottle
i’m a serious child, ur an ekphrastic of an ekphrastic
when i was a preteen & closer to death
i was ashamed for the boy & his bike
huge, shiny, & new
so practiced at lifting my legs, separating from reality
shaft me gig economy
i rely on a strength, it comes from inside
i wait to walk behind u, stare gratuitously
u have the same idea, so clever
i look twice
there is dignity in work
like piss hitting the back of a statue
soon ur breathing on me
elevator in limbo: 16th floor
knowing how to proceed: another kind of surrender
u try so hard for everyone else, wut abt doing something for urself
google search: charlie puth height
brodsky claimed that birds in poems = the poet themselves
more likely: birds in poems = carl phillips
i’d rather get squished by a tank than write abt tiananmen
shush, sanctimonious cathy
change the label, still sewage in a bottle
i’m a serious child, ur an ekphrastic of an ekphrastic
when i was a preteen & closer to death
i was ashamed for the boy & his bike
huge, shiny, & new
so practiced at lifting my legs, separating from reality
shaft me gig economy
i rely on a strength, it comes from inside
i wait to walk behind u, stare gratuitously
u have the same idea, so clever
i look twice
there is dignity in work
like piss hitting the back of a statue
soon ur breathing on me
elevator in limbo: 16th floor
knowing how to proceed: another kind of surrender
--
MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of several collections of poetry, including BOYFRIEND PERSPECTIVE (Really Serious Literature, 2021), ALMANAC OF USELESS TALENTS (CLASH Books, 2022), & SYNTHETIC JUNGLE (Northwestern University Press, 2023). Tapped to edit Lambda Literary’s Emerge anthology, their poems have been nominated for Best New Poets, Best of the Net, & the Pushcart Prize. They were awarded the Poetry Project’s prestigious Brannan Prize in 2021, & serve as a poetry editor at the acclaimed journal Fence.