China White
︎︎︎ Adam Spiegelman
︎ May 30, 2025
I was on a hot streak that August of asking a lot of questions
and never buying. Another way of seeing it, of course,
Is that I was wasting a lot of honest peoples’ precious time.
A cashier at London Pharmacy told me a story about a perfume
They sold inspired by heroin addiction with a glossy white cap,
Fat and blunt like a toque. He said the cap was made to be
Broken but I wasn’t really meant to know that about it
So I’d break it accidentally. He trailed off. I suppose there were
Grand and tragic implications. The scent itself was unremarkable
And barely there but, of course, wildly expensive. I’m sure he told me the secret
Because he knew I wasn’t a serious customer, that I couldn’t afford it
And besides—dry, white florals? And so powdery, how could it work on me?
Eventually, I bought a black leather couch and embroidered my life
With new plots. Duck in sour cherries. Dan. I’ll go to heaven no matter what I do.
and never buying. Another way of seeing it, of course,
Is that I was wasting a lot of honest peoples’ precious time.
A cashier at London Pharmacy told me a story about a perfume
They sold inspired by heroin addiction with a glossy white cap,
Fat and blunt like a toque. He said the cap was made to be
Broken but I wasn’t really meant to know that about it
So I’d break it accidentally. He trailed off. I suppose there were
Grand and tragic implications. The scent itself was unremarkable
And barely there but, of course, wildly expensive. I’m sure he told me the secret
Because he knew I wasn’t a serious customer, that I couldn’t afford it
And besides—dry, white florals? And so powdery, how could it work on me?
Eventually, I bought a black leather couch and embroidered my life
With new plots. Duck in sour cherries. Dan. I’ll go to heaven no matter what I do.
Adam Spiegelman is a writer from New York.