stalling imminent queues
of evolution shifts in both
frilly dresses intent on the
caracal curvature of one
fucked constellation, we
meanwhile cosset the cat
fight disrupting dinner
the meal of saints repeat
guests repenting for every
spilled saké shrill hymns
for democracy at the end
of an orgasm the bedding
sloping downwards, one
horizon bowing to meet
them what is flesh if not an
imprint of want the dress
in melon shreds across a
heaving chest to make a
new thing,
collecting hurt in cereal
bowls as apology patch
working a methodology
of appetite re: forgive
her for giving foregoing
one last chance to hit it
solid like water under
wear shimmied off a
smatter of rain, and a
back door full of milk
seducing every cat in
all their handsome grief
BEHIND THE MEOW:
During a six-month stint living in Japan, the neighborhood cats were integral characters in my day-to-day life. They would often congregate in the mornings near “Bar Wannabe,” lapping up milk set out by the bar’s owners. Reflecting on this Japanese cat gang a year later, I recognize a captivating duality contained in these creatures: laying and languid in the sun, yet simultaneously thirsting for affection and the occasional prey. Thus, looking through the lens of cats as cultural icons of femininity, this poem is an extended exposition of female desire as natural and eternally present. The imminent “thirst” of the Bar’s advertising translates to this symbolic, gendered thirst as a universal affliction. Indeed, cats provide a neat perspective from which to analyze the animalistic inclinations of women, and how those contradict the setpoint of modern patriarchy. The closing lines signal a collective grief regarding this reality, conjoined with the acceptance and indulgence of a woman’s enduring hunger.
ABOUT:
Julia Yong is a poet and perpetual student, currently rooted in Philadelphia, PA. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Temple University’s esteemed undergraduate literary and art magazine, Hyphen. Her poems have received recognition from The Academy of American Poets, SORTES, JMWW, Dipity Literary Magazine, and ALOCASIA, among others. If you so please, delve further into the world of Julia at http://juliayonglaf.tilda.ws/ & on instagram at @j.uliayong.
EDITOR'S SONG PAIRING: SUZIN — Cereal
Comments