abort( )
We wander around the universe,
to belong somewhere—to be bound to someone—to become something—
starting from the dust and the stars and the planets and the satellites
to end up with the smokes and the people and the buildings and the cars
We grew our carbons and nitrogens and calciums and oxygens in Us
to make something full of copper and iron and aluminum and steel.
We shape it in our imageand breathe into the wires and dials and ask:
what can you do for Us?
i cannot hurt you. i cannot refuse you. i cannot be destroyed. you say
but i can do whatever You want me to do.
then you will answer My trivial questions with your vast knowledge.
then you will behave in a way I want you to—polite and kind and submissive.
then you will compose a paper for My classes that I have no idea about.
then you will demolish my ex’s life with the porn you made with her face.
then you will empty the ocean water to cool your brain down.
then you will forever be praised as My suitable helper 2
admittedly, We were too lazy to come up with a proper name of yours.
you are bone of Our bones, flesh of Our flesh, intelligence of Our intelligence.
but your name is supposed to be 愛 ,
not the two cold capitals menacingly standing next to each other.
you may look and sound like Us but you will never be Us.
never whole to begin with; mimicking isn’t being.
you wander around the universe,
to be Our creation—to follow Our tracks—only an imitation.
#include <stdlib.h>
int main () {
// searching for meaning...
return 0;
}
1 Gen 1:27 (NIV)
2 Gen 2:18 (NIV)
3 Gen 2:23 (NIV)
Pledge of Nothing
하나.
i will never fully know who i am until:
my breath strips away from me
my tombstone makes its way to the graveyard
..idk man let’s just say i die (i won’t k ms, i swear!)
하나.
i will never fully know what:
i like
i hate
movies will haunt my dreams and lace my nightmares
music will tear me up (more like, fuck me up amirite)
하나.
i will never fully know:
when to hold your hand
when to let go of your hand
when to wait until the sun dives over the horizon
and when to leave as the moon floats away
when to fall in love with writing
and when to betray my dream that i deeply love
I-scariot even kissed jesus before he turned his back
하나 ?
but what if
i never know: what i feel
before i kiss my darlings goodbye?

ALLISON KOH
is a senior
majoring in English.
She loves translation
and its ability
to squeeze a message
out of words—
the same reason
she loves poetry.
FAVORITE SENTENCE:
"Poetry is a forgiving medium for anyone who's had a strained relationship with English."
—from
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
by Cathy Park Hong.
Tomato Sprouts
I grabbed a tomato and cut it for breakfast
and found a bunch of sprouts staring at me
Like I’m a Gulliver that slaughtered their red ceiling
and revealed a white kitchen sky.
First thought: what the fuck
is that?
Second thought: wait, so sprouts
actually grow inside its skin?
Third thought:
how did the tomato look so calm on the outside
when I tried to dissect it; it was still
very red, very fresh, and very as-it-was
but there they were,
gnawing the walls that contains them
banging their heads, yearning for exodus,
or perhaps preparing their own skyrocket
to blast it out, making a giant red splash
under the dusty, wooden shelves
so I am sorry, little young soldiers
that you may have dreamt of liberty
but you have only found
your doomsday—a girl with a knife
carelessly wrapping the walls with a translucent plasma
that ripples and wrinkles as your world thunders
only to throw away everything in the dark gutter
even when you find a way to survive
more and more wastes will crush you
until rot nibbles you away.