A Little In Love With Desert Air

 

I’m told you’re a fan of mapo tofu. You enjoy

films starring Brad Pitt but more so

The way his teeth sink into hoagies.

You’re on your way to work, 

or to the health food store. Wish

I could take a peek at your grocery list, 

fill up the gas for your car.

They used to say you were too good for this place,

taste too refined. You’d make it somewhere

far away. Hollywood, planet Mars. 

Think I saw you last Wednesday, new freckles

on your face, reading the Times. I’ve forgotten

how to spell your name, to get ours to rhyme.

Wanna pry open your heart like a clam.

Smear each half with some garlic butter, spicy mayo. 

Stuff the same years with potpourri, tea bags, pressed

azaleas. French kisses. I’m waiting

for you on the other side, that is to say,

this one. The one where we’re wearing

crocheted hats in mid-July, zipping down the

Las Vegas strip in your mom’s convertible.

Play me that song again. The one that goes,

I’m told you’re a fan of mapo tofu.

 
 

Joanna Wong is a rising second year BFA Filmmaking student at Rutgers University. Joanna's passions in filmmaking come from her love of books and translating written language into visual narratives. Joanna has created short films from documentaries to narratives to social commentaries and more. Another strong passion for her has also been poetry. She writes, performs, and has competed in slam poetry competitions. Joanna is excited for Film x Poetry, as it combines her two of her artistic passions in a sophisticated manner.

Julia Do is a writer and artist from Little Saigon in Westminster, CA. She currently resides in Cambridge, MA, where she is a rising sophomore at Harvard College. Find her writing in Hobart Pulp and Blue Marble Review, among others. Her current obsession is flash photography. Follow her on Instagram @yourschewy.