The narrow clearing down to the river
I walk alone, out of breath
my body catching on each branch.
Small children maneuver around me.
Often, I want to return to my old body
a body I also hated, but hate less
given knowledge.
Sometimes my friends—my friends
who are always beautiful & heartbroken
look at me like they know
I will die before them.
I think the life I want
is the life I have, but how can I be sure?
There are days when I give up on my body
but not the world. I am alive.
I know this. Alive now
to see the world, to see the river
rupture everything with its light.
HEAVY
—POETRY Magazine, 2017
"Probe"
—POETRY Magazine, 2017
"B.F.F."
—BuzzFeed, 2017
—The Offing, 2016
“White Boy Time Machine: Software”
—Guernica, 2016
—The Paris-American, 2015
“Reunion”
—Vinyl, 2014