Show Biz

i was 9 when jackie chan slid into a taxicab

in LA, kids stared into the projected

screen me too, noon hot as hell

mosquitoes buzzing none of the adults

are impressed us swatting air

with exposed palms no

where to hide. who fights lethal

flies this way? there are people

i don’t like but still i want everyone to love

me. my skin swells for the longest time

i rolled my eyes at Yen who does a flip then

another Chinese stuntman defying gravity

for the camera always the white mastermind & i

watched Chinese Paladin 3 where an ordinary

guy forms a trio, swats a sword & falls

in love sacrifices the love

of his life, she smiles and dies

in his arms but he saves the world

he always does, movie endings this one

day i saw a woman in side-cutted skirt

no leggings, that’s all she did. if my body

stays the same my heart

a shoestring dangling above a utility

pole. the kind of everyday marvel

you need to imagine how

it ever happened, i’m writing this it’s no happy

ending really is what if

i can save myself

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 Helen Chen (she/her/她) is a Chinese American writer based in NYC. Her work has been featured in jmww, The Citron Review, The Lumiere Review, etc. She loves characters and is curious about her grandma’s scarf.