Two Poems by Victoria Chang

Dear P.

If you are      like me and can    only see the horizon

that is unreachable    don’t know that want   sheds and

grows and         sheds and      grows      please don’t

keep trying                      the outline    is fine find a closer

aisle  pull the cans and boxes        from the shelves   so

you can    eat     so you can feed on likeness     anything

is possible but    the possible isn’t always        foldable

it’s okay to not spin the     diamond   that begs for your

finger  it’s okay to    reach    behind you   allow your clothes

to    snag onto     air   to hide in    time     to exist in

the stars  to believe that awards   signify   nothing  it is

okay to only watch the birds in the    ficus tree clutter  the

branches each season    leave        their waste   and let

your hands be      hands      and the    wings be   wings

Dear P.

Please          forage   please do not    achieve please

stay       mischievous even    if        others are deviously

perfect     your previous hair color will always be    black

black isn’t      absence       black shouldn’t be  auctioned

black   has options even if you have to      hack something

rip something      lengthwise           your soul    isn’t  a

flag pole     it can   lift up           into the sky and    wave

become        frayed          you too can   have      but make

sure      you actually      want  otherwise       stay      home

and make your own     wontons     they won’t        get

stuck to your  tonsils      someday     someone will seal you

out       but someday  someone will  also      sing to    you

from a       window sill and   steal        you        from me

because you were    never     only mine    

Victoria Chang‘s fourth book of poems, Barbie Chang, is forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press this fall.  Her prior book, The Boss (McSweeney’s) won the PEN Center USA Literary Award and a California Book Award.  Other books are Salvinia Molesta and Circle.  She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017 and teaches at Chapman University and the Orange County School of the Arts.  She lives in Southern California with her family.  You can find her at www.victoriachangpoet.com.