Allison Zhang
Porcelain Theory
I collect broken things—
a teacup with no handle,
a mirror in four neat pieces,
a cello string I wore as a bracelet.
My mother says
everything breaks
if you press too hard—
voice, faith, the radiator dial.
There's worship
in returning to what's fractured:
gold veins in bowls,
a bruise teaching the body to speak.
Today I broke the last plate
just to hear
what it sounds like
to start again.
Bio
Allison Zhang is a poet and writer based in Los Angeles. An immigrant and bilingual speaker of English and Mandarin, she writes about inheritance, memory, and the quiet violences of daily life. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Pithead Chapel, Midway Journal, Vagabond City Lit, and others. She is the author of An Everlasting Bond, honored by the BookFest Spring Awards and the International Impact Book Awards.