Madison Avenue at 2AM by Yixuan Wu

c/w: sexual assault and death

I let the wind clear the street,

road lights creased the darkness

and here lies her naked body,

crumpled up into a shriveled

hibiscus. I approached,

a flower covered dress collapsed

beside her; I can see how the drawstrings

were untangled,

her unfolded, petal by petal,

until the sacred place

that was supposed to sing to a man’s touch

kissed air.

Except this time it screamed.

It’s from reading

the palette of bruises that glazed

over her,

wind swiveled through my fingers as

I pick her up, my hand

cradling spilled hair.

She once told me that her

Chinese mother never wanted

her in New York, that one’s

skin color screams

to the entire country

the origins of plague.

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Yixuan Wu is a Chinese national who currently lives in the Philippines. His works have appeared on The Rising Phoenix Review and One Art Poetry. He hopes to spread awareness of Chinese heritage and culture through his poems.