Wendy Xu
[Why work.]
Why work.
Why shop.
—We’ll
disrupt rest
we’ll
finish
the dishes.
Leaving isn’t
the question. They
go. You’ll
stay to
answer. To you
we say yes.
To you
we say Ma’am.
No pay is
beneath them.
Our possessions
of springtime
nectar &
terry towels &
Xanax:
yr earthly
dis
memberment
is ours.
Our tenure is obsequious.
We know that.
Our faith is unencumbered.
We know that.
Our prose is tired.
We know that.
***
Catherine Chen is the author of the chapbook Manifesto, or: Hysteria (Big Lucks). Their writing has appeared in Slate, The Rumpus, Apogee, Anomaly, and Nat. Brut, among others. A recipient of fellowships from Poets House, Lambda Literary, and Sundress Academy for the Arts, they’re currently working on a libretto.
