MAP (4) by Ye Chun
4. Shenzhen
Streetlamps imitate stars.
Stains on a hotel ceiling imitate mountains, boats and ruins.
…either do great good or great evil,
the journalist, 23, says. We walk
along the low brick wall into a park. A palm tree
stops us and deepens the ocher of our faces.
A stone bridge shapes an ellipse with its shadow. We
don’t have much to do so we press each other’s body.
Is a compass a moon bringing a finger to its lips?
A mosquito net
with a crimson mosquito
A roach crawls beneath the net
onto her right leg
My leg feels odd
she says
It’s broken
her algebra teacher says
It’s broken
her chief-editor says
It’s broken
the legless beggar says
It’s broken
the manager of Human Resources says
It’s broken
her snoring lover says
On the wall a map
of cherries and water paths
