STUDENT-ATHLETE’S COLLEGE RECRUITMENT GUIDE
lance: buyer of track pants & athletic socks
perfect loved boy give me a future
i like ur boy traits: ur too-thick ache’s elations
we can look at some terrifying art inside my mouth
young boy enters a dancehall feet loose
he fixes cocktails blindfolded
runs down the wooden escalator clack clack clack
david archuleta lookalike stares the whole night
why do i read the right-hand-side first
is it my chinese dna
if i am responsible
it is for everything
hardy explorers on borrowed time
ur dukedom with fairy lights
the mother of all orgasms
still unsure how we were led astray
is it possible i prefer ur breath over mine
nuance is poisonous
let’s talk generalities
res ipsa loquitur: the thing speaks for itself
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冷战 COLD WAR
I dream that Rumsfeld says “that’s all” to me & return to my desk, sulking
I wake up to find a female ghost on my chest, adamant abt popping a squat. I call out for my personal Jesus
I wake up next to a cheesesteak. They leave
Self-care is exhausting. I need to be taken care of
Most days I put on a good face, a werewolf
Moment of weakness: slip under a friend’s tongue, liking it
Surprisingly pamplemousse, suddenly Domingo
The last time I see Mathias is in Tribeca. He fights w/ his girlfriend over me
One day I will learn to stare w/o longing
A lot can happen in a month
Disavow me daddy
This poet has no intention
I’m living out the logical conclusion of Meet the Fockers
Your mouth reminds me of goodbye
FREAKS TO THE FRONT
i can’t remember how to write a good poem
heidegger says writing a poem is making a voyage of discovery
i don’t know what a packrat is but i’d like to be one
look at this hymn to possibility
ur paper-tiger confidence
our fluctuations
their ongoingness
regrets, we have too many
insistent as the low rumble of a maserati
were u at dewey’s coffee, admiring vanilla boys while waiting for ur vanilla drinks
sorry i was busy putting trash in my body
when i’m gone
will u be okay
or o.k.
or ok
MICHAEL CHANG is the author of several collections of poetry, including DRAKKAR NOIR (winner of the Bateau Press BOOM Chapbook Contest), CHINATOWN ROMEO (Ursus Americanus Press, 2021), as well as BOYFRIEND PERSPECTIVE (Really Serious Literature, 2021). Tapped to edit Lambda Literary’s Emerge anthology, their poems have been nominated for Best New Poets, Best of the Net, & the Pushcart Prize. In 2021, they were awarded the Poetry Project’s prestigious Brannan Prize.
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