RUMPUS POETRY BOOK CLUB EXCERPT: HAPPY WARRIOR by Michael Chang

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An excerpt from The Rumpus Poetry Book Club‘s March selection,
SYNTHETIC JUNGLE by Michael Chang
forthcoming from Curbstone Books/Northwestern University Press on March 15, 2023

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HAPPY WARRIOR

she fell off her scooter staring at me, determined as a drillbit

don’t trust anyone who doesn’t drink soda, we want lots & lots of pop

write poems in my head how other azns do math

u don’t need my help dazzling co-eds

my mouth pretty for when u come to town

so hot u cook an egg on it

so hot sunglasses come out all warped

so hot u get the chili pepper on ratemyprofessor

my mother knew better than to pretend-leave me someplace

i would’ve said ok peace i’ll let u know either way

discerning as shibboleth, daylight savings can’t buy shit

i hate that most memoirs are abt other ppl

see how they huddle, pretending to be something they’re not … beefsteak tomatoes

unpitying boy im going to love u like sweet corn congee

teach u different ways to say calves like cantaloupes

make u mushroom soup from scratch

caress u furry creature

ditch our umbrellas in a rainstorm, get soaked like last week’s dishes

dog & bone is a lazy name for a restaurant

try: the rooster, reluctant poet, & little halfwit who invented the universe

the same grave, the height of ridiculousness

ur lime jello, im fruit suspended in u

we hear the excited cries, think: he looks good out there

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Excerpted from SYNTHETIC JUNGLE by Michael Chang. Copyright © 2022 by Northwestern University. Reprinted by permission, courtesy of Curbstone Books/Northwestern University Press.

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