local_library Aubade, On the Way to the Airport

by Chen Chen

Published in Issue No. 200 ~ January, 2014

Why reach for my hand, now, in the car,

trying to make these early hours

late, these small hours big, when already

it’s too easy to count the stars, already

the one that warms our faces,

the planet, is climbing toward us like a stronger,

better lover, & dawn is the fiery rose in its mouth—

 

No. No matter how sad & stupid, I will take

your hand, we will make our spot on the road

night again, night with countless stars or utterly

starless, who cares. All the heat & dream we need

is this, what is happening now, as I squeeze your hand

back, & darkness fills the sky once more,

& our hands tight together form a blue, blue rose.

account_box More About

Chen Chen received his B.A. from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA and is currently a University Fellow in Syracuse University's creative writing program. He also teaches composition to undergraduates and serves as Assistant Poetry Editor for Salt Hill. His work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Connotation Press, Anti-, Ghost Proposal, and Verbal Seduction. He was a finalist for Sycamore Review's Wabash Poetry Prize and was the winner of Driftwood Press's 2013 Ghazal Contest.