LARB contributor son or hobart editor daughter ?
—the son sounds like he at least showers
hope they edit ur name for length
ample bar snacks
& a 10-inch clit
praising the french for choosing
‘the humble rooster’
as its national mascot
& criticizing england
for having a lion
—all the while
scotland’s national animal
is the unicorn !
‘i’ll always feel guilt towards this person
cuz i used his body as a catfish on grindr’
outdoor event:
starched shirt, no tie
i recognize the cater-waiter
—how could i not ?
thinner now but still hopelessly hot
it drives me half-crazy
how flimsy trousers
make his ass look extra perky
big blunt in his pocket
menacing cobra at his clavicle
my mind flicking back to the ‘love swing’
the snap of the towel
the flanges of sex
MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of THINGS A BRIGHT BOY CAN DO (Coach House, 2025), HEROES (Temz Review/845 Press, 2026), and BOYS OF THE EARTH (City Lights, 2027). They won the Poetry Project's Brannan Prize and edited Lambda Literary's Emerge anthology. Their work has appeared in AGNI, the American Poetry Review, the Greensboro Review, Harvard Review, the Iowa Review, and POETRY. Their translation work (from the Italian) has been featured in the Cortland Review, Denver Quarterly, Washington Square Review, and other outlets. They judged Cream City Review's 2025 Prize in Poetry. In 2026, they serve as an AWP Writer-to-Writer Mentor. They live in Manhattan.