Empress Indignant

Inspired by true events

"I do"

She said I do not want to tell her to come back inside, her small heart already black and blue because dad had better things to do. She...

She didn't fit in with the rich. The way they curdled at strangers and rose to greet the shameless. She'd rather serve than sit, knowing...

When she learned she grew less with life but swelled with stress. When they heard they sent gifts in boxes too big to fit what she'd...

You’ll find her on Sunset Blvd heavy eyes, lips ajar. She picks a carnation, white, from the neighbor's lawn. Her face lifts and falls,...

He prays like the hopeless, the way their fingers lace across a bottle or a waist—forgetful. His church sits somewhere close, close...

Said he’s a martyr or maybe a snake Eyes emerald green mouth ready to take Told her be careful hunger makes a man cry Leapt into his arms...

1993

Just tell the story again, of the sparrows who flew from falling Rome, their blazed wings.

-Ocean Vuong

Los Angeles, CA