(I believe we can all be reborn
            as the person we want to be—
            at least I’d like to believe.
            But right now, labor is hard
                       and the baby is ugly.)


I plan to be born on a sparkling autumn
morning like an apple,
my cry a bright buuuup
the blaring a golden trumpet
of sunbeams

Look, trees are burning
themselves into
colors and confetti.
All the leaves clap
for me, they are thousands
of guests clinking
glasses. Everyone
has been invited—
they toast to
my happiness.

Yan Ruan is a Brooklyn-based writer and artist. She was born and raised in Beijing, China, and earned her PhD in Social Psychology at University of Rochester.