Gabrielle Grace Hogan
PARIS SYNDROME
Paris syndrome is a condition
where the Paris of one’s expectations
is so different from the Paris of reality
that the body physically reacts with symptoms
like hallucinations or increased heart rate.
It is a state of severe culture shock. Maybe
insensitive to admit, but to me, it is silly—
I mean, of course the French are mean.
But then, I am no stranger to not getting
what I want, and it being the most terrible
thing in the entire history of the world.
It’s like falling in love as a teenager—
it is the most important thing that has ever
happened and no one understands it.
I mean, when the Trojans got attacked by
the Greeks pouring out of that big
wooden horse, they were probably
like, what the fuck? This isn’t what
I signed up for! But it was.
They just didn’t know it.
Gabrielle Grace Hogan (she/her) received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. Her work has been published by or is forthcoming from TriQuarterly, Salamander, The Journal, and others. She has published two chapbooks, Soft Obliteration (Ghost City Press 2020), and Love Me With the Fierce Horse Of Your Heart (Ursus Americanus Press 2023). She is a Team Writer for Autostraddle and an Assistant Poetry Editor for Foglifter. Find more information on her website, gabriellegracehogan.com. She lives in Dallas, Texas.