star

They won’t teach me how to be a woman— 
But they’ll notice when I’m not. 
Say I should smile more, try harder, 
Be brighter, quieter, 
Less me, more what they forgot. 

you are of another mother

I knew you before

before that

man

I loved you before

now I'm left away

searched

and you're stopped

and hurt

I hope to love you again

I write this now, in loving memory of a man who has not yet left us.

sometimes the dress feels like a soft breath

a quiet hope wrapped in fabric

that touches my skin like a secret i’m afraid to speak aloud

it’s the way light moves when i twirl

the way i feel seen without saying a word

she walks into the room like a sentence that forgot to whisper

light brown hair pulled back

clear glasses catching the light

tall enough to see past most people

loud enough not to care if they notice

My watch did not enjoy my run in the rain.

This morning before the other humans had stirred,

I woke to the ringing of an alarm that was not my own,

and saw the irresistible rain.

Now my watch doesn't tell the date.