CHRIS TSE

like a queen

I should be king
I should be torn from your stuffy pages

I should be monster
I should be undeterred by scars on shoulder blades

I should be tempted
I should be blackened, cum-stained and bleeding from love

I should be everything
I should be twenty-something with no heel

I should be wanton
I should be leaning over ledges with my fortune

I should be happy
I should be that bottle that never empties

I should be mirrored
I should be blanketed in folds of rolling silk

I should be child
I should be tender at their protests

I should be ready
I should be volume up on open roads

I should be paper
I should be leading you all into war

I should be visible
I should be on every street corner as is

I should be bold
I should be the reason you know my name

I should be spill
I should be more than enough

I should be queen
I should be your closing credits

Photo by Rebecca McMillan

Chris Tse is a poet and occasional food blogger based in Wellington. He studied film and English literature at Victoria University of Wellington, where he also completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters. His poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction have been widely published both in New Zealand and overseas. Chris’ first full-length poetry collection, How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes, was published by Auckland University Press in September 2014. In 2016, Snakes received the Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry and was a finalist in the poetry category at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Chris' second book, HE'S SO MASC, was published by Auckland University Press in March 2018.

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Links
Chris's website
Chris's Auckland University Press author page
Chris's Book Council page