ON WEATHERING

                    by Angela Veronica Wong 

Inside me / The mini-monster / Is eating at / The edges of / My heart again / Don’t feed it / My friend warns me / But my heart is just there / How can I stop the monster’s / Small mouth from opening / When it wants so much and I / Want to be needed / It’s / The / Anxiety of April / The / Anxiety of / Being human / So I’m / Walking through the world like / I have / A plastic Tupperware of Cheez-its / In my Miu Miu bag / Wondering what’s with / Sisters / Thinking / With my terrible memory I should / Write more things down / Thinking / What work is done so / That work is done / Hostage / To my breadmaking I try / All the sleep masks to see which / Block out the most light / Track my money / Until it turns / Into a / Firefly each / Dollar I don’t have / Lighting my room / Like a film screen nightmare / These days critique / Can’t be subtle even though / I have that / Human anxiety / Where I worry / About what people think / It must be okay / For women like me / To feel this rage / I don’t care / I don’t care / I don’t care / About exclusion / Because I’ve always / Been excluded / Watch that documentary / On PBS / We build / Our bodies against / The day-to-day / If what we say / Isn’t enough / Here is the data / Is it ever / Enough / I look at / Every / Real / Estate / Listing as if / I could have / These other / Lives / Who am I / There is / No one / Who can prepare you / For how your body / Will change







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photo by Avye Alexandres

Angela Veronica Wong is a writer, artist, and educator based in NYC. Her most recent book of poetry is elsa: an unauthorized autobiography (Black Radish). Fiction has appeared in journals like Denver Quarterly. Performance work has been featured in Buffalo, Toronto, and New York City. Find her on the internet at www.angelaveronicawong.com and on Twitter @avwusesherwords.