Hearing Stars

Hear stars
stagger
in the night

Like screwing in
light bulbs
in the garage
The circular motion
mocks the planets

Ears pretending
to see.

Hands

Holding your hand,
exchanging whorls
and lines.

Link fingers
tight
for comfort.

Trace circles
on palm
with index finger
to tickle.

Pull at tiny hairs
near the knuckles,
one for every
moment spent
touching
the bones in your
right thumb.

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Jill Chan was born and educated in Manila, Philippines. She migrated to New Zealand in 1994, and started writing poems a year later. Her poems have appeared in Poetry NZ, Spin (NZ), Valley Micropress, Micropress NZ, and online in Southern Ocean Review, Trout, Apples and Oranges, Poetry Magazine, and Expressions.

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| tyurina allen | jill chan | suzanne frischkorn | heather long | carole macrury | noemi martinez | anne pepper | sharon shahan | geneviève szopa-monley | cameron walker |