The Harpoon Review

Dear Hydrangea, Dear Nostalgia

11/30/2014

Dear hydrangea, dear nostalgia.
Immeasurable air will not dwindle a petal
crumbled. Well without a fumble
the flattened outer cups
into scent
design and power.
It is not due to your merit. Mere nostrils
reinforce preemptively what’s spread out.
That wasn’t you on the lake.
Burnt out inside the house,
a flattened stomach and a skinless finger.
Deep down in the sea, dark,
white-scalped, forgotten. Toes-up
in the rain. What do
I have to say?
Ask my father about
his fears. Since the pencil’s
sharp and black. Since
all tin plates could be bent.
Since the crustaceans that took
the lobster’s shell
have already ceased to move.

Ann Huang

Ann Yu Huang was born in China and moved to Mexico when she was a teen. She holds a Master’s degree in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and currently resides in Newport Beach, California. In 2012, Finishing Line Press published her first chapbook Love Rhythms, a collection reviewed and noted by Orange County Metro. Her poem “I Left the Radio On” was published in 2013 by EveryWritersResource.com, and “Entry” was published by Burlesque Press Variety Show in 2014. Huang’s another poem “Harmonica” has appeared in Blue Fifth Review this October.