How pleasing to be soft as chalk
and mark, and mark, then rub away –
or imagine
an igneous-pebble me:
crystals cool their heels for eternity
like stars glittering
absently
from fires that went out
(A vandal who’s erased was still a vandal
And no candle burns brighter
than the bright, the empty air)
Diana M. Chien’s poetry has appeared in publications including Tin House, Boulevard, American Reader, VOLT, and Web Conjunctions, and has received awards from Atlantic Monthly and others. She holds a certificate in creative writing from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in microbiology from MIT, where she directs a science communication program. Website: dianamchien.com
