I was a little glob of lush circumstance.
You dressed me up in snow and holy
emergency. I pointed at a record player
and called it my father. I pointed at a harbor
and called it my mother. But you said No
no no no that is not so healthy! and fed me
coffee and kaleidoscopes. We had big plans
and even bigger talons. You stayed up all night
plucking light from my teeth. The whole
world was delicious! You told me words
were the closest we could get to being
inside the people we love. I told you
when I grow up I want to be a megaphone.

Wendy Xu is the author of the chapbook The Hero Poems (H_NGM_N BKS). Her poems have appeared, or are forthcoming in CutBank, Forklift Ohio, Diagram, Columbia Poetry Review, Third Coast, and elsewhere. She co-edits iO: A Journal of New American Poetry / iO Books, and lives in Northampton.

Nick Sturm is the author of the chapbook WHAT A TREMENDOUS TIME WE’RE HAVING! (iO Books, 2012). His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Aesthetix, Dark Sky, Dinosaur Bees, Forklift, Ohio, Hayden’s Ferry, Jellyfish, Red Lightbulbs, and elsewhere. His reviews and interviews can be found widely in places like Coldfront, HTMLgiant, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. He is associate editor of YesYes Books.