In the shower, we compare her eating disorder
to my gender dysphoria. We’re running low on food
stamps but her pockets can fit three or four
energy bars. I think, here is a woman who would meddle
with a self-checkout just for me. Later we make porn
because I’m saving up for top surgery. She tells me
I’m beautiful but in a boy way. We’ve sloughed
off our clothes so many times, leaving long trails
down the hall so we can find our way back
to the TV. Outside, the dog-days roar. We keep
the blinds shut, the windows open like a wound.
Madeleine Poole is a genderqueer poet and educator. They hold an MFA from the University of North Carolina—Greensboro, and they are an incoming Writing Studies Professor at Tacoma Community College. Their work is featured or forthcoming in Harbor Review, Third Coast Magazine, The 2River View, Gasher Journal, AntiTHESIS, and The Greensboro Review.