I have hunted down this book for years! Paper Trail Projects, whose co-founder is Conchitina Cruz, the author of this book, sold me a copy for a very low price. Thanks, Paper Trail Projects!

I have become fond of reading poems in their earlier versions. This brief collection of ten poems, which are translated to Chinese here and later on published in Cruz’s third full-length poetry collection, is a remarkable exercise in vulnerability and logic. There is no emergency is my second favorite book by Cruz, so I am obviously leaning toward praising this as much as I can. For the average reader, majority of the poems here might come off as bizarre, since there is an absence of connectedness from one sentence to another. That absence, however, cleverly displays coherence as the reading progresses. Cruz stretches logic while focusing on oneself, the imperious “I,” to note musings from travels and everyday observations. Whether the images here are drawn from actual experiences or formed in the head, it doesn’t matter. The point is to display relatability, which, in one way, as demonstrated here, springs from desire, that one intrusive feeling with so many alleyways where one can get lost and wander endlessly.