An opening to a story should be When the will
unremarkable. of one’s willingness to work
supersedes
After my essay alphabetical
was stretched by order. When the
the love doctor, will of
I resumed a hermetic lifestyle. To manage a local spirit
my interrupts your martyrdom. A
time, I distributed water crystals medium becomes a
and Kirkland medium
bottles on the highway. As because they can’t avoid
a side character, I have only the fact of their
desired to calling.
seize
agency They assume mortality.
with little to They eat average meals.
no knowledge. They excommunicate
journalists. A troupe
And you wished of exorcists
that for me. exudes brilliance. Sure,
let’s say last
Even listening is night I was
useless. I have nothing to say. an anthurium
I don’t think a man can full of wonder.
understand petty ,
nor can he Dreaming
recognize the mercy on the third day. The
inherent in end of
his own killing. fragrance, renewing stomps.
Copyright © 2023 by Catherine Chen. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on September 20, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.