SOFT AS SNOW (BUT WARM INSIDE)
there’s no nutrition in a muffin patron saint of mixed messages
comes out of me chapter & verse a troll-themed town
less room for error what color helmet u want ???
he was never the same after talking to chatGPT
which had somehow convinced him that armani was secretly british
his suspicions seemingly confirmed he went down the rabbit hole
an earthly hare a brazen thief blowing thru intersections
body fit to the point of parody the male whore spat i am the (212) number
working himself into a froth beestung lips refusing to burst
sulky & pouty inspiring mockery “ not quite there ” as social lubricant
it must be vacca on the street old cow skunks ape
there isn’t any reason my love comes in different sizes
lead singer of a forgotten band tells me to use my imagination
gargoyle in a gown i am out of place
can only come up w. passion rainbow beachball i turn over & over in my head
how u are a nice boy—nice boy—nice boy or i was hearing my own suffering
cuz boys are mostly hair
i think abt how i must be a better poet than u since u are dead
& i’ll only keep getting better wouldn’t u agree
i find u compelling the right shade of raspberry
like the one who said everything is impermanent including his incredible body
tho i’m pretty sure he still loves me the way u put ur hand on a stove
out of love or some misguided desire i’m trying to convince myself
i don’t have a chosen family but at some point i stop
—i choose me
MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of SYNTHETIC JUNGLE (Northwestern University Press, 2023) & THE HEARTBREAK ALBUM (Coach House Books, 2025). They edit poetry at Fence.
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