John Yau is the author of several books of poetry, numerous short stories, and a novel. He has also written books on contemporary art and edited collections of fiction and poetry. His poetry, which has been praised for the complexity and originality with which he explores racial stereotypes and discrimination, earned him the Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets. Among his many collections of poetry are Exhibits; Paradiso Diaspora; and Further Adventures in Monochrome (Copper Canyon Press, 2012). Yau lives in Manhattan.

Ill-Advised Love Poem

by John Yau

Come live with me
We could plant acorns

in each other’s mouths
It would be our way


of greeting the earth
before it shoves us


back into the snow
People on couch
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