Chen Chen, born in Xiamen, China, is the author of the poetry collections Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency (BOA, 2022) and When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities, which won the Thom Gunn Award, among other honors. He is also the author of the book of essays In Cahoots with the Rabbit God (Noemi, 2023) and teaches for the low-residency MFA programs at New England College and Stonecoast.

i’m sorry, i’m sorry

by Chen Chen
she said, so doubly & quickly, over the phone. then, quiet. like the rabbit
                                                                                by the mailbox this morning,
                  scurrying away through wyoming snow, as though
                  they’ve just delivered too large a piece of news. but i could tell
         she meant it. i heard it. this was her,
                                       my mother, apologizing.


People on couch
To continue reading please sign in.
Join for free
Already a reader? Sign In