How I Annotate
by Jade Han
I’d want you to annotate me.
Not just notes in the margins,
but full sections bracketed and boxed.
Write in your allusions and connections
colored in thought bubbles.
Draw in all your arrows, circles, and stars.
Take your time picking apart every word
for hidden meanings and subtle double entendres.
Then tell me your favorite lines.
I’ll watch your eloquent cursive
turn to unintelligible scribbles,
as your hand chases after all your thoughts.
And then I’ll ask to see your hands.
The sides of them, and your fingertips,
in all their tiredness and ink-stained glory.
Fill the page to the brim with your words,
until mine are no longer recognizable.
Recite me from memory.
Word for word.
Eyes closed.
I’ll have you remembering why poetry exists.
I’ll have you falling in love with words on a page.
Jade Han (they/them) is a mixed Korean and Mexican gender non-conforming poet from Buffalo Grove, IL. They are a staff poetry writer for Dalika Magazine and have had poetry published/forthcoming in Papers Publishing, ONE ART Poetry Journal, The Afterpast Review, Flurry Magazine, and Outland Magazine. Han currently attends the University of San Francisco. Their work explores the different aspects of their identity and the ways they interact with one another. Alongside writing, they are also an avid skateboarder and visual artist.