Content Warning / Trigger Warnings:

Many of the poems below deal with themes of intimate partner violence, abuse, anxiety, and injustice. Please be mindful.

Poems featured in Little Queer Magazine:

Laser Vision
I joked about making flashcards
Because she couldn’t tell
what people were telling me

A friend made a Power Point
I’ve made slides too
To try to translate
How to spot queerness in the wild

But for the Subarus and suspenders
The wrists and the rainbow polish

How do I explain that it’s actually
In the dip of a brow
A quiet glimmer
The way your step falters
The fact that you’re also checking me
Are you?
Am I?
Do I really need to flag
When there’s a silent measure?

If I talk to you long enough
I forget to be afraid

Is it about finding you?
Or keeping us?

Fall
To trust so deeply
That I could tip
Roll through the edge of my toes
Loose my claim to the ground
Inhale
And keep every inch of me soft
A pillow for the landing
After I fly

Auxin
Stories are people changing
I don’t know which way I’ll bend next
Flowers don’t stretch in a straight line
They trace the arc of the sun
I face the horizon
And don’t realize that it’s night

Crease
There’s meant to be a limit
To the number of times
A paper can be folded
On itself
But that’s only if it’s folded with care
If thrown, crushed, it distorts
Into a different plane
Crinkles and wrinkles
Scars that won’t fade

Hiding
I can hear the nearly silent siren
Only circuits and tires
A whistle from a few blocks away
I know that there are other cars
That whisper down the street
That most are quiet and considerate
Not a predator creeping
But I listen for it
Just in case I need to give myself a few seconds
To run

Myself
Imagine all the things that me and I could do
If I had another of me
We could take care
Be gentle with one other
Me would say “why don’t you take a rest for a while?”
You’ve done enough
You’re safe
I’ve got me

Poems featured in Wild Tongues: