Dorothy Chan’s Editor’s Note: Triple Sonnet for Hotness
“Always leave cash because it’s the easiest
getaway,” is something Richard Siken
once said. It’s similar to how the key to life
is walking into the room like you’re the
most—and the most important person. Or
how dressing like you’ve got some place better
to be, ready to ditch the date—the meeting—
the party—any minute now, and POOF!
is the power move of the century. Revision
is realizing there’s always someone /
something hotter. Rhythm is poetry
and poetry is rhythm & dance & sex
and doesn’t “&” compete with XXX
and “etc.” and em dashes for the hottest
use in sonnets, our little song—better
yet, the afternoon delight that happens when
I pop open champagne, nibbling on
sashimi, how hunger drives poetry—
just don’t be thirsty. Or how roll calling
cocktails might just be part of the process,
the Brunch Adventures Starring Rita and Me,
renewed for another season, the Kir Royales
with pain au chocolat. Rosé is known as brosé
at mid-day, with fluffy pancakes and Benedicts
galore, the XXX spicy Bloody Mary shooters
with raw oysters—synesthesia embodied,
how the sonnet is the amuse-bouche of poetry,
the gift card that keeps giving and giving.
My tongue dances when I recite. My tongue
tastes when I slurp oysters. A lover says we
should lick our tongues together. “Etc.”
is the sexiest word in the English language
because it’s romantic suspense embodied,
like cue “The End” when the lovers kiss in
the black and white film—fade to curtain.
Don’t you love the infinite volta, the amuse-
bouche—how eight is the lucky number in
Chinese culture, because when you flip “8,”
it turns into an infinity symbol, “∞,” which
means prosperity. It’s my pleasure and
poetry to welcome you to Issue 6, Honeys:
Let the rhythm etc. etc. etc. guide you—
Photo Credit: Joshua David Watson
About Dorothy Chan
Dorothy Chan is the author of five poetry collections, including the forthcoming, Return of the Chinese Femme (Deep Vellum, Spring 2024). They are a two-time Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship finalist. Chan is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Honey Literary Inc, 501(c)(3) BIPOC literary arts organization, run by women, femme, and queer editors of color. Visit their website at dorothypoetry.com.