About Stephanie Chang
website: https://www.stephchang.com/
Stephanie recently won the 2021 Adroit Prizes for Poetry & Prose for poetry!
Reader's Thoughts - Ally Wong
The atmosphere in this poem is incredibly mesmerizing. Regardless of if you can relate to the speaker’s experience, it captivates your attention and flows naturally from one stanza into the next. The last line is beautiful in a witty, tongue-in-cheek way. There is a lot of emotion embedded in the figurative language that doesn’t feel too heavy. One of my favorite instances of this is in the fifth stanza:
“We flee to a city clotted with condos / cold /
coral-cheeked children / Cantonese”
The alliteration here creates both a visual and audible experience that drives in the hazy feeling of the poem. It feels somewhat like a fever dream, and although some of the metaphors seem outlandish, it’s strangely easy to visualize while reading.
Overall, this poem is one of my favorites and I reread it often when I need inspiration or just to relive the moment again.
Stephanie Chang’s poetry can be found in Adroit Journal, Kenyon Review, Diode Poetry Journal, and many others. I would encourage you to check out their website and explore their work!
You can also listen to the poem on Soundcloud at the top of the link provided.