Salon Sonnet

take this into the bedroom
carry us to that boundary
the tabletop
a lazy susan of confusion
as if gnat or soft cheese
a furry wall
get out the knife
clothes & comebacks
r all i have left
plus the easy afterglow
of seeing u
which i now have
the ballet music
ringing ringing ringing

Matchmaker

not simple, is it, for u to be vulnerable & free
to relish this love
look on imdb & see ur character’s been killed off
i loved him in that general way
it’s much too late for specifics
too indulgent like a hot skunk
erupted glans & sacs of stink
remind me of ur cologne
being purposefully undignified
he plants carrot seeds in belly button
what adrienne called the dream-site
tho she was talking abt new york
good news: i’ve finally enrolled u in swimming classes
bravo, nice fit, my god, so tight
she provided the correct prognosis, this profit-pig
grunted & yelped in porcine pleasure
as if pumped full of hormones
till u had visions, dimples on a schoolboy, such a rude delight
the french open a wooded area
miss ting my music teacher
wooed by lover who made fortune in palm oil
& attended to her deepest parts
accomplishing the impossible TUCK
how i adore dancing to the rhythm of those words
slick as palm oil
i cannot forget the sweetest of scenes
miss ting quaking when her mac made a noise
she blamed limerence, sang like a nightingale
“ we’ll see abt that !!! ”
nice title for negligible thing
dispatch from jimmy: sea tumbled as sheets ???
yes, i think so
pome lifted from me
nary a feature in sight
not just for the fans
but the casuals, the glorious one
scheming his way into bosom of rich fairy
his holiness, the perennial problem child
in mobile-friendly coffin
look what u made me do
nobody plant roses
lost tapes stay lost
band keep playing
go at it
duck & drake
as one

These poems by MICHAEL CHANG originally appeared in TOY SOLDIERS via Abode Press on 1/1/2025. If you loved these poems, order the newly released chapbook TOY SOLDIERS here.