Jackie Chou

Falling in Love

All they hear are my words,

reverberating in the therapy room,

an overplayed lullaby.

A friend once caught us

strolling down the street.

He's no toad, you know, she said,

an epiphany flickering in her eyes.

That's the point-

they wouldn't understand,

unless they laid eyes on him-

Adonis in real life, whose face 

is like the jagged mountains,

on which I walk.

Catcher in the Rye

I want to catch you

when you fall

feel proud

as the crowd watches

and applauds

live in the fantasy

of my glory

not the reality of my failures

be I a hero or coward

to think this way

Like Holden Caulfield

I roam across town

on a dining spree

finding solace

in the stale taste

of deli coffee and pastry

the indifference of strangers