by Desirée Jung

Inside a cylindrical glass
a yellow fried chicken covered
by a layer of fat skin
is observed by many eyes.

“Experiments,” the scientist says,
excited, anxious. The reporter,
avid for information, wants
more statistics and results.

The material is thick and separates
the bird from the laboratory air.
A sensor the size of a toothpick
is attached to the dome.

There is a lot of light in the place.
The smell of fried parts mixes
with the ions discharged
by the chicken.

The reporter believes that the experiment
will demonstrate how animal fat
is bad for one’s health. She believes
that proofs are necessary.

They’re all open-mouthed.

Many needles and smoke. Despite everything,
one of them says: “I’m hungry.”
And they all nod, paralyzed.
But nobody moves.

Desirée Jung is a Canadian-Brazilian writer and translator. Her background is in creative writing, literary translation, film and comparative literature. She has received her M. F. A in Creative Writing and her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. She has published translations and poetry in Exile, The Dirty Goat, Modern Poetry in Translation, The Antagonish Review, The Haro, The Literary Yard, Black Bottom Review, Gravel Magazine, Tree House, Bricolage, Hamilton Stone Review, Ijagun Poetry Journal, Scapegoat Review, Storyacious, among others. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.