cover image Your Ancient See Through

Your Ancient See Through

Hoa Nguyen. Subpress, $12 (120pp) ISBN 978-1-930068-13-1

Born in Saigon, raised in Washington, D.C., and now living in Austin, Tex., Hoa Nguyen tongue-in-cheekily channels Your Ancient See Through, making time and space ""numb where the knowledge knife is gifted/ and owl nimble-necked blinks at me."" Nguyen, half of Skanky Possum magazine's editorial team and its related press, offers nearly 80 short poems in six sections (matched with line drawings by Philip Trusell) that refuse to accept experience as currently processed for consumption, and apply a steely whimsicality to its refiguration: ""Bring specific flowers I will not know the names of/ Slowly pump your arms as you walk by."" The results are immediate and unique: ""the center is/ light green... the tender part/ is the newest part.""