I Left the Radio On

by Ann Yu Huang

I left the radio on for a thousand days, the whisper of
my name, the sigh, the breadth, the thrust on my throat and
the hold of your heart.

One thousand days of joy, happiness and misery,
of blinking wishes, political debates, lights turned-on-and-off,
cats and dogs, wind with oranges, fish and grapefruits, nights and lies.

One thousand days of red velvet, blue sea, green scotch,
dark skin, amplified music, lonely nights, loathsome mornings,
bewildered moments in between them.

One thousand days of sunny lounges, rainy shoes, baby
calling and touching, regretful words, forborne arguments,
budget rooms, rioting car chase, eventful forgetfulness, crazy moods,
ennui and shortcomings.

One thousand days of wandering and finding a place, seeking
the right hour, making jokes, asking for advice, shocking, choking, playing
Monopoly, staging the desk with
a bamboo tree in a heart shape.

One thousand days of picking up mail, jogging alone, craving
Mexican food, jumping for the excitement of loving and living,
emptying the gold fish pond, asking for help, the different kinds of
assistance, the longing, making a home, cooking and reading,

wondering about jealousy and the promise, if
it is going to be another
one thousand days (have
to stop here or I will never!)

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Ann Yu Huang was born in Shanghai, China and moved to Mexico when she was a teen. She graduated from Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York cum laude and has co-founded the home-healthcare brand Nature Bright Company. She is currently a candidate of MFA program in poetry at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has studied with poets and writers Michael Steinberg, Barbara DeMarco-Barret, Nahid Rachlin, Gerald Costanzo, Jean Valentine, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Leslie Ullman, Natasha Saje and Richard Jackson. Her first chapbook collection Love Rhythms was published in October 2012 by Finishing Line Press, and was noted by OC Metro Hot Read section in Jan 2013.