he tried to save the calendar business

i tried to save him—paper & paint
               running across country. he swore in
a language i had forgotten to forget.
               wormwood tears curdled. margins
cleaved through the eye of his needle.

deviled days & hard-boiled hours
               begging for release. (let me down
over easy.) we are exponentially well;
               hell exponentiates below our dancing
feet. your bullet lying pulseside.

commune of angels! boatload of
               socialists! i am debauched by mortal
ceasefire. even sparrows can hunger.
               back to ground & basics & queer
origins, heart caverning around me.

---

note: title is a line borrowed from the song “mad as rabbits” (2008) by panic! at the disco. there are clear allusions to rimbaud in “mad as rabbits” that carry over to this poem as well.

---

Audrey Lin 林妍希 (they/she/he) is a queer high school student interested in transnational literature, art, and film. They are based in Los Angeles via the Bay Area and Shanghai. Their work can be found or is forthcoming in Depth Cues Magazine, Eunoia Review, and the lickety~split. Twitter: @audramatically.