Grace Hui
‘You talk about him so much—why don’t
you talk to him?’ my mother asks,
and I do not because I am afraid, because
he goes to the same school as the last boy
I confessed my feelings to. He said,
‘I never had feelings for you, never ever,’
and from his straight face I knew the next refrain
was ‘never will’.
I do not tell this boy I fancy him
because I am afraid, because
when Ellen showed Taylor a line-up of boys
she nearly cried
at the personal hall of fame (shame)
and I do not wish
to look out and see a graveyard of the boys I loved,
the only thing dead my heart,
trampled by boys who never ever,
never will.
Grace Hui is a University of Cambridge graduate and an Asian immigrant making her home in London, where she writes free verse poetry, flash fiction, and contemporary fiction novels. Grace can often be found cooing at dogs, binge-watching TV or tweeting @gracehuiauthor.