Jackie Chou

Grieving the Loss of My Former Self

 

I see beyond the lipstick's red

Whenever I paint my lips red

 

I see a gaping hole in my open mouth

Bad teeth and gums bleeding red

 

I see a target inviting arrows

Circles around a dot of white and red

 

My friends are all avoiding me

My bank account is forever in the red

 

My suitors have married other women

The autumn persimmons are turning red

 

And I, Jackie, am no longer an A student

But the X on my forehead marked in red

 

Raspberry Parade: A Ghazal for Prince

 

On my way home from the cabaret,

I realize I've lost my beret.

 

The street is an endless parade,

raspberries on my float, not a beret. 

 

Vagabonds crowd the sidewalks,

wrapped in colorful rags, but no beret.

 

I wear a red dress my mother bought,

with a crystal tiara, not a beret.

 

She passed away in 1994, 

and the song isn't about me but a beret.

 

-Previously published in Fevers of the Mind Poetry Blog