Chia Lun-Chang

Issue 52
Fall 2024

Chia Lun-Chang

Memory Is Fiction

They like to rewire
Some are languorous

Some interrupt
Some disagree

They have a sense of duration
Some have induration

They are endearing
Some will drown you

Some hide
A few don’t intend to hurt, but they’re born to be hurtful

Memory is a sponge and cleanser
Some are triggered by the odor

By order from authorities
Memory is a machine run by blood and impulse

a paradox’s box
a private ocean

a detective who isn’t interested in truth
a translator who isn’t capable of collaborating

Last sound

Which letters would appear on my deathbed

Suffering muffles voice

If I’m lucky to have someone

To share the mundane silence

Correct my pronunciation over and over

A noun is none. The verb becomes

Plural sound is an “s”

The past tense is

I was gone and

Your sorrow will bottom up

The future senses that

My mouth is deeper than any language I speak

Perhaps no letter would show up

Can we spend the last word properly

Not holding onto clarity