I gifted Marcello a tiny ceramic sheep:
because it’s us baby—happy anniversary.
We’re the same when I confuse the zodiacs,
two Leos born in different years.
“I love it, but why a sheep? I’m a rooster.”
*
I don’t know whether I’m a goat or a sheep,
caprine being the same character. In english
they say goat but the red-gold cartoon
decorations are impossibly cute rams,
big sweet faces and fluffy horns.
*
Marcello’s arrested after a wrong positive-ID.
The precinct clerk assures me he won’t see Rikers.
Well, that’s not how the system works. I hold every curse
inside me. My baby in the other room goes: “lawyer—
lawyer—lawyer.” He’s released that night, though the charge
follows him out. We are not the same.
*
My earliest memory of guilt: I broke a ceramic rooster,
took the fragments to the alley, and hid them
under a bucket. Eventually I led grandma
there and showed her my accident.
I hid my shame for as long as possible.
Jade Yeung is a Toishanese American writer from Brooklyn, NY. They have received support from Community of Writers and Fine Arts Work Center, and attended workshops at Tin House and VONA. Their writing has appeared in Indolent Book’s A River Sings series and The Olivetree Review. Currently Jade is pursuing an MFA at Rutgers-Newark where she’s a Trustees Fellow.
Twitter: @jadedisk
Instagram: @jadedisk