GROUNDHOG DAY

when u get up & go

wagging ur eyebrows

my following after u

feels inexorable as fingers running thru jelly

dog-nails clacking on floorboards

postcards w. no return address

for a while i was hiding

admiring from afar

begging in private

studying u as my beacon

now i have nowhere to hide

but u

i know it isn’t sensible

looking to u to fix my lack

or carry me thru the day

i just saw u

shared glint of recognition

i hope to see u again

illuminated numerals on a watch

i don’t want to tell the time

can only recall these lines from lewis:

right now ur probably by the ocean

while i’m still out here in the rain

the same but not quite—

endearing in our inelegance

perfect in our incongruity

the birds in pictures

practicing their calls

ur sound

still here

its source

emitting all light

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MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of SYNTHETIC JUNGLE (Northwestern University Press, 2023), TOY SOLDIERS (Action, Spectacle, 2024) & THINGS A BRIGHT BOY CAN DO (Coach House Books, 2025). They edit poetry at Fence.

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