How the 2008 Olympics Came to Be - After Lisel Mueller

by Mia Cheung

The starting pistol sounds
like fried eggs in a pan. They
Tie tight their laces, slip on their spikes.

I unswallow my breath, Spit scrapes off like mortar, It pulls like warm gum.

They are sprinting three Minutes from now. I unpeek from behind the couch,

I hear all the cheers.
It unstreams past my bedtime, I lie down.

The stadium unfolds, the Architect draws up plans and
I unsee virgin grass. The animals

Roam, but
The warriors, the worriers, lie down. Dynasties peel off the walls,

Rust, clip the back door. Revolution plays ding-dong-ditch, Running so fast that even

His shoelaces come undone. He unlaces one ring
And pries apart three.

Soon he will snap the
Last ring in half, I know this, I heard it thwack like

A rubber band.
Blue, yellow, black, red, green Mix into skin.