Novelette
After Richie Hofmann

You were the other.
You had hands and feet like a prose poem.

When you stretched I was moved by movings
of denim, the morning light of jeans on the floor.

Nights were jacketless and starched, everything moved
with the logic of poetry, everything moved so

slow. That new blue perfume never lasted more
than an hour. I thought about buying better-tasting lipgloss.

Not everything feels like everything else. Your mouth
in mine was no more than an accidental rhyme, a slip

of speech. Coffee on Tuesday was nice. We were
civil, friendly, like the month after a divorce. I

didn’t say anything about anything.
I used my jacket to shield our heads from the rain.

I miss you like a paperclip in a back pocket.
I miss you like anything at all.

Cadence Chung

Cadence Chung is a poet, mezzo-soprano, and composer, currently studying at the New Zealand School of Music. Her nationally-bestselling chapbook anomalia was released in April 2022 with Tender Press. She also performs as a classical soloist, presents on RNZ Concert, and co-edits Symposia Magazine, a literary journal for emerging New Zealand writers. In 2023, she was named an Emerging Practioner by the Fund for Acting and Musical Endeavours. She likes to sing Strauss, write art songs, and buy overpriced perfume.