in re promiscuous owl and black-hearted pussycat

you (the bullshit artist)
(dam) nice limbs
cheekbones for days / ruin my life
pls hold
i shot my load (can you say that in polite company)
papito
funhouse mirror to the soul
black girls code / don’t write about nature / because one day we won’t have that
and the work will be dated / god forbid
love insistent like my quest for a waffle / we do sex / we make fuck
american dream                         (average) neighborhood / (normal) house / (plain) meals /
(regular) friends / (basic) clothes
the briefcase in pulp fiction / my secrets / do you know about the band called the slants
where were you / the first time / you heard lady gaga
six flags fright fest
(yes) homo        titular ferocity / like vocal adrenaline
whereas / be it resolved / power anthems / there is much to celebrate
the woman in target who just wanted to be seen / say excuse me / why won’t you apologize
i wake / i write / i wake / i write / i realize i am at the age / my mother had me
i see color / your (brown) eyes
a forgiving bear with donuts and no pants
i live for this content / this is it
(love)
on trial
(people say)       i build whiteboys up / to tear them down
dats good poetry right dere        (or is it justice)


Michael Chang (they/them) is the proud recipient of fellowships from Lambda Literary, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Brooklyn Poets, & the Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. Their writing has been published or is forthcoming in the Cincinnati Review, Summerset Review, Vassar Review, Minnesota Review, Santa Clara Review, Ninth Letter, Hobart, Harpur Palate, Poet Lore, The Nervous Breakdown, and many others. Their collection <golden fleece> was a finalist for the Iowa Review Award in Poetry.