In these poems from Eric Tran’s forthcoming book Mouth, Sugar, and Smoke, desire is firebolt and danger, belonging among images of addiction and weapons. Just as “full slants to fool,” Tran skillfully twists our expectations. Wanting is never easy to bridle, he seems to say, even on the level of syntax. One poem is syncopated, the other relentless. Both are hypnotic and demand you read aloud.
