i thought i told you
to keep the cat out of
the microwave. he’s
gotten in there again and
we’ll have to pay, worse explain
the deep scratches on the sides
of the little oven. finally
he has stopped spinning on
the flimsy turntable but look at him,
wrinkled neck craning to get
a better view through
the stained window. it seems
warm in there, away from
the icy roads
where just last week
a car going ninety sped off
the nameless cliffs and was
swallowed by the aching
earth. the microwave
catches heat in
the static darkness, away
from outside where each
brittle branch reaches out like
a lonely arm.
Amanda Huang is a junior at Millburn High School, where she is a senior editor of her school’s literary magazine. Her work has been nationally recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and JustPoetry. She has been published in the Rising Phoenix Review, the Word magazine, and in TeenInk. She loves poetry because it is a beautiful and creative outlet for her thoughts and feelings.