Lord of the broken lot
as I used to hear on late night TV
I can accept your baggage
which we carry together you say
I miss you in a new way this year
I betray my old devotion
seek my own saints: dead poets
piles of snow like tortoises in the shade
little boxes & bags along the road
with bread crumbs dried ketchup
I leave the window open for you
a lantern distance soon consumes
I look down & wonder if the neighbor
with two dogs sees me naked
strolling the house to wash
Maybe he’s writing a poem too
my odd pale image The trees before
the hill the yard dressed with snow
God are you a commercial in the night
for love songs lost for lips?
Despite your heel’s spur I wouldn’t trade you
I think I know You see my best
like a star unnamed a faint white light
in the corner of your room
CONNOR WATKINS-XU holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland and a BA from Baylor University. He is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets University Prize and scholarships to the Southampton Writers Conference and New York State Summer Writers Institute. Originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he currently lives in Seattle. @connorwatkinsxu
DANZHU HU is an award-winning visual storyteller, currently specializing in illustration and fine art painting. After graduating with a B.E. degree, she received her master’s degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology, MFA Illustration program. Hu loves exploring the infinite possibilities of visual storytelling by experimenting with different media. For her, it’s all about playfulness. Her work is whimsical yet vulnerable, playful yet melancholic, with a touch of symbolism. Through her practice, Hu wishes to create a world where the most cryptic, subtle, and complicated emotions can be captured, translated, and cherished.