Aubade as Un-True Crime
by Trinity Catlin
​​Fissured Tongue Series Vol VII  |  May 2026
Picture
"Once Upon a Honeymoon," Ann Wong. 80 x 60 cm, oil and oil pastel on canvas, 2026
Picture
Aubade as Un-True Crime
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The question is: did you leave or did I bury you?
[                                                                    ]  You have

taken the man playing the drums with a Slim Jim,
my skull-cap hair, my moon-face, unhinged your

steel-lip from mine, loosened me, learned of second
chances—asked: how is your heart? Like two glass

cups bound by a rubber-band. I had let you wind it up
to watch it shatter into glitter. I wanted to be a ghost,

to be the breath of a god in the mouth of a saxophone
to be the breath of a dog on your tongue. I remember.

I wanted to bury you, just so I could unbury you—to
take a shovel to the night sky, send you silver flowers,

seal my face in plastic, then peel you out of me so I
could get a good look at you. Yes, I remember it--

the grave [unfilled], the soft satin pillow—the soil.
You could’ve ridden a horse in those steel-toed boots.
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You looked like you wanted to kiss me, and I let you.
Yes, I’ll let you.
About the Author
​Trinity Catlin (she/they) is a writer from Los Angeles, CA. They hold an M.A. in English from Loyola Marymount University and are currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at New York University. Their debut chapbook, Bone Hunting, was published by Cathexis Northwest Press in 2024. Their work has appeared in The Chestnut Review, Broken Antler Magazine, Bicoastal Review, and other publications.
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About the Work
I wrote this poem after a lovely day in Los Angeles. I had been reading Clarice Lispector’s short story, “The Crime of the Mathematics Professor,” just before attending a birthday party at a Western-themed bar. The following morning, the details of Lispector’s short story seemed to blend and fuse with my own meditation on the previous evening. I consider “Aubade as Un-True Crime” a poem of Eros.
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About the Process
My favorite moments while writing have often come as surprises while free writing. I make it a habit to journal every day, whether that is for five minutes or hours. Some days, that might look like fragments on what is happening outside my window. Other days, I end up with a first draft of a poem. Oftentimes, I write poems as I revise my journal entries. While rereading previous entries, a line or a few lines will stick out to me and end up as a foundation for a poem.

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About the Artist 
Ann Wong Wan Yee obtained a BA in Visual Arts from Hong Kong Baptist University in 2020, and currently lives and works in Hong Kong.
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"For me, creating is a way to find a sense of order and awareness within a chaotic reality. Living in Hong Kong, a city of relentless rhythm and constant information flow, people often feel emotionally fragmented and physically numb. The repetition of everyday life, information overload, and the tension of society gradually create a distance between oneself and one’s own experiences. My practice unfolds within this distance. It is both an act of resistance and a form of adjustment, a way to observe reality and to reconnect with sensation and the body. https://wanyeeann.com/.