sample(d) V: chinatown

Photograph taken by Nicole Chandra

chinatown

“F*ck the rules,” 

swears this century’s 

21st William f*cking Shakespeare

singing about

“Midsummer madness” 

As if it wasn’t 11:57 on December 31st

what of summer

what of madness

did we have to sing about 

but we sang nonetheless

… for no one else 

cruising off the 905

siren sounds whistling light

sports cars speeding on either side 

superimposed over the

radio sound

and there’s 

… no one else 

around 

bottle rockets red and chrome 

bursting sounds in the distance 

like shattered liquor bottles 

scattered across night

—marking a

    new year 

    in the sky

              above us

       while 

the road beneath us

rolls into an empty parking lot 

the light from inside 

the chinese restaurant 

spilling in silk-like

sheets across the 

dashboard 

“We’re on the way,” we lie 

… for no one else 

needs to know we’re here

Photograph taken by Fawwaz Hafizh

chinatown - [the outro]

here — where the words could will time

into broken glass 

       sparkling

… to be

    or not to be 

shattered

in vain

here — where  nineteen twenty ;) wasn’t too young

or too stupid 

a reason

… to be 

    or not to be 

altogether

insane

Photograph taken by Clarinsa Djaja

… I’m probably going to let 19 bleed into 23. As a Capricorn, a new year signifies more than the changing two digits in the calendar date, it means the changing digits in my age. This year, in particular, I’ve turned twenty. You’re twenty (as the infamous tik tok sound finally rings true). I’ve never been good at new year’s resolutions. I’ve always just found myself more reflective during this period. The good and the bad. The grand and the dull. The bold and the boring. I don’t think I’ll ever get over 19 though. The snakeskin remains as it always does —‘til it sheds I’ll remain drenched in that elusive teenage dream, bittersweet and hopeful for the future as I always will be.

Songs Sampled: “Midsummer Madness” by 88rising, “Homemade Dynamite” and “Perfect Places” by Lorde, “New Year’s day” by Taylor Swift, “To be or not to be” soliloquy by William f*cking Shakespeare, and many more.