Locks with no key still have purpose,

An essay will have more say.

A sports car gets more attention,

And always first is A.

Aunty’s green card was approved

lucky she says

right before they tightened

immigration

and the world became a paper map

with a hand clamping the oceans

paper crumpling and

colorful blobs of land

choked apart

I have learned to predict when the last dial tone will be

interrupted by

the subhuman voice.

I can’t tell you exactly how many beeps it takes,

but somehow it’s always 1 and a half beeps

i don’t leave my house except for

school and work, both of which

i dread with anxiety like gym

weights. i never work out either

because there are people who

watch me, every hour of the day.

i listen to music to make sure i