Red. White.
crackling, snapping, sizzling/ like midnight
baubling, rippling, trickling/ they tie me
down like a balloon
/for the children in disney sparkly dresses
My world is on fire.
but we do not know flame
not when we can only see red/
and assume the rest is blue air.
wrists are not burned by the rope
there are wounds that are not allowed to leave scars
my execution is both a secret/ and not;
the fire is both ‘the seize!’
on that huge screen with the red and gold flags/
with the little words below ‘fox news’
the fire is both
red blue flag tainted with gold and blood/
And white dreams in which we can never fully see the green light
opposite the harbor
the fire is both
That stage with devils
And that stage with rainbows
And that stage with Lady of Liberty glaring down
and it demolishes the forest
most beautifully and magnificently.
Across the water
there is also wind
like a dandelion, I was trained to be
carried away.
ingrained within me,
as my mother told me, i’m made out of air
and dragons and phoenixes.
i can never see them /
they are tattooed within the patch of skin above my heart/
they scream to me when i become buried under the fire/
they tell me stories of salvation and the communist spirit
they tell me that I should believe that the wind has the power to save me,
to carry me
To a safe place
far far away/
but I’ve seen fire.
A burnt arm reached out of the fire
And gave a biscuit
I can’t let go anymore.
i don’t know if I even want to let go.
i don’t know if I even know what freedom means.
i lay to sleep.
and in the dark I see myself
as I was outside their circle.
so i knelt down by the water and caressed it gently.
fire raged and tries to consume me
the wind does not frail away
and I think,
truth never exists in things.
Yet I exist.
that can never be enough!
i exist as i am.
that can never be enough.
i see the fire, the wind
i’m trying to find
where the stands
water
To Go Home in Blue
By Grace Zhong
To go home,
I dug a grave and buried a child.
That night cried bloody puddles,
red tears tainted white roses,
and with my golden shovel
I covered her up with the mud. It was suffocating and she
Screamed and screamed until she went hoarse.
Blood-like liquid trickled down my cheeks.
silence.
That night,
I buried the soft sand slipping through plushy fat fingers, I
buried the golden dust of memories that are now
hidden beneath the dirt, I buried
the long red robe embroidered with a pattern I no longer
Recognize I buried the
seal that fell from heavens I buried the thousands
of dragons and phoenixes under my pillows, I buried millions of
myths and legends, I buried billions of
Lives that had stories, built monuments and carried legacies,
To go to a foreign home.
The day is setting endlessly
The night passed infinitely
I walked down the street for a little while
I carried stories three thousand and five hundred eastern suns old.
Today, I buried all of the little girl,
To find
home–
Sirens Were Ringing In Silence On Christmas Eve
By Grace Zhong
i’m deathly scared of christmas eve
and sirens that were ringing in silence–
sirens were ringing in the silence,
filling every crevice of emptiness
and sensitivity. Blood seeped
from all
corners of
the ceilings
and the wind howled
and howled
and howled.
walls grew tighter
and tighter
and the darkness
eventually became clear,
taking the form of a frail girl’s muddy silhouette.
Hands
dripping
red and trembling, she spoke,
“i’m sorry. please. call the police.”
Drip!
it stained.
her white nightgown
my white blanket
no longer white
my loving sister
no longer—
tik-tok!
i should’ve waited like i always did
why did i let myself sleep
tik-tok !
i calmly dialed the number
patting her hair like i always did
a wounded puppy,
she rested her head on my lap
tik-tok!
i stopped her because i was shaking,
instead, i squeezed her hand
“let’s wake up mum.”
“no, dad first. i don’t want mum to be scared.”
“okay.”
they came and took her that night. my father followed, and they made me stay home.
for the best,
i’m not sure if the rain fell.
Squeak! Squeak!
Squeak! even if I’ve been awake
all night. i’m wide awake as i stare into space.
i see it, the
Drip!
sirens were wailing in silence.
they were blue and blue and blue and blue, but
She was red.
“Merry Christmas!” she’d said with a laugh.