“there was a war and i slept through most of it. i sold buttons for buns. my older sister darned
soldiers uniforms in search of a husband. soldiers were gainfully employed. most young men
look good in uniform. one spring i rented a room in the working-class neighborhood behind the
governors palace. everyday i leapt over the fence and dashed across the grounds now known as
the peoples park but what was then known as a forbidden area. in this forbidden area
chrysanthemums and osmanthus grew. uninhibited. they had no business being there. beyond its
gates, flower vendors all over the city set up shop. that spring i needed a job. none of the vendors
hired me. one day after morning announcements i heard of an opportunity at the weather
department of the broadcasting bureau. i was desperate i was hungry. there was always a war. i
spoke the language id studied the language. without an appointment or degree still wearing my
middle school uniform i stormed the governors palace. i demanded to speak to the minister of
interiors who directed me to the minister of public affairs who directed me to the secretary of the
minister of public works. the secretary seemed put off by my request to speak to the minister
even though it was imperative id insisted that i become employed because there was a war going
on. i did not get a job. i lived in this room through the end of fall and i never forgot the smell of
chrysanthemums buried deep as the roots of a magnificent yew.”
CATHERINE CHEN is a multidisciplinary poet and performer living in Brooklyn. Their practice activates a kind of architectural writing exploring the ways they inhabit rituals of mourning, desire, and postcolonial identity making. A Lambda Literary and Poets House fellow, they have received artist support and fellowships from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (Arts Center at Governors Island), Theater Mitu, Franconia Sculpture Park, and Monson Arts Center. They are the author of Beautiful Machine Woman Language (Noemi Press, 2023) and Manifesto, or: Hysteria (Big Lucks, 2019).
