SIX POEMS by MICHAEL CHANG
RENTAL PEACH
alert ur queers
celebrate LOVE
FRIENDSHIP
don’t ask what i mean
he is available for marriage
the namibian prez’s house
built by n koreans
made of evening light
the grapes have learned
the scholarly life
coffee
4 strips of bacon
on rare occasion
lobster tail
encrustation
we’ve got to
do something
slowly the mood
comes crawling
it’s love
this time
SAY NO MORE ORGANIZED SPORTS
I’ve got enough honey for you
Don’t say the R-word, it’s bad for morale
Sorry, I’m new, what is “ focaccia ” ???
She is credited as an emergent virus
I imagine so
We never trusted the “ oh anything ” crowd
U left her across the border
Beat over the head wit a puke-stick
It was unscrupulous
It was charred
New day rapping on windowpanes
We did notice the organ-grinder & his monkey
Think for urself
U have a bright future in vice
A sober detective doesn’t wear Crocs
U must be a murderer b/c that’s a victim
U must be a felon b/c ur my most-wanted
I don’t suppose ur anti-crab
I just find the creatures so hapless
In Ann Arbor I met a guy who gave great head
He had slender fingers
Don’t bother, I gave up looking [he emigrated]
Lucky for us
The evil gnomes were relentless
Too bad I don’t want answers
I just want things
Love & tremble
A little more rouge on the cheek
THAT’S THE SPIRIT
stars cowering—here i am
endowed w/ ur promises
nourishing me
like a virgin page
meeting ur fingertips
no need for introductions
it’s only hearsay
they want to be situated on my face
i don’t have coasters
i have silver platters
i’ve heard it all before
sorry if u feel something
in the dark
that’s the spirit
EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUDGE
“. . . as when Blake declares I always hate / a smiler and he’s a smiling smiler” —Maureen McLanejust keep walking
u’ll interfere w/ my process if u come any closer
ppl who don’t comb their hair shouldn’t touch my things
u took to him like crab to drumstick
tipsy rooster so fast but where ur creamy discharge
explaining every damn thing on the screen
how could this happen
honeybear i met at yaddo
carwashes are supposed to be safe !!!
we came to rely on his slinging toys over his shoulder
had gotten used to these uneven appearances
walking the seine or equivalent CVS
never a definite schedule
first crack of light in a pretty dark tunnel
one day we’ll finish what we started
fashion new lives out of earth
lean our bikes on the same tree & these works on paper
the bugs being everything
molasses an ugly form of intimacy
sons of bitches pining over pamela anderson lee
take out the trash more gently
all day i stayed in bed w/ rod stewart’s photogenic son
holding the velvet curtains apart
when calvin klein delivered the ransom
his daughter had been traded for an african gray parrot
a devious plot while we ate ur lunch, see
we campaigned in poetry & governed in prose
leslie hid the gold in the wall
this head of lettuce outlasted the PM
we’ll wake up in 5 minutes sad captain
it’s not abt what they can do to u
in all their infinite savagery
—it’s what you will accept
looking for meaning in the littlest things
“ ppl are obvious until u love them ”
as above so below
elephant’s trunk uncurling
preppy boy w/ frayed cuffs
can i kiss u
[shrug] if u want
i want
we won’t play the blame game
many of us felt like the part
had been some of the finest acting of his career
DRINK BEFORE THE WAR
Lyft 2 blocks, Philadelphia native Lil Uzi, ur booty Chasm Ali
White chicks w/ digestive issues, exciting adventures at the nerd prom
No lobster tank, ur dignity sized for my purse
Given enough time, I could come up w/ something compelling
Michael from Mountains
Miss my own bed, a punchline that never lands
A molehill, perhaps
Canadian navigator in upcycled cashmere
He’s not better off, she can’t hold a candle to me
I’m a pop star w/ nose of golden retriever
New title: SENIOR ADVISOR for BEAUTY
The only kintsugi I know is ass crack
The detective in Japan who’s a literal butt
U Aries u thick skull * MEAT *
Make luv like country mouse, I cherish ur prized drizzle
U palm me, nod encouragingly
Gimme osculations, a Ho-Ho-Kus
I am so fond of u
SAINT DES SAINTS
1.
Koala rough fur
V counterintuitive
Like tall guy w/ short c
Delicate as Russian prince
2.
Stay inside for real, this heat yesterday—[temporal construction Merrillesque]—RAILED me
3.
Marking ur first & only appearance in a poem, smiling & pubescent
4.
How stupid u gotta be to believe I’m from the Oranges, a blue-tongued chow
5.
Boys in hard hats
Go down to the worksite to see how Whitman felt, O’Hara’s papaya
6.
Here we are, incongruous like yachts in Minnesota
7.
Reevaluate my life, put brunch on top, abandoned hotdog kissing tip of slipper
8.
When u get to a certain point
U care abt these things
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. Twitter.