BIOLOGICAL CLOCK
I had no time for baby fever – this
body caught its flame, upward & licking
seared my haunches, hot coals beneath hoofed feet.
I was all mare, fawn, & galloped stallion
setting our fields ablaze, wild with want
beyond want, ached for life however halved.
I was no beacon in the night, just
a brief flash, a shot star, wishing myself
sleepless, soft and unfolding then folding
our foal. I was all yearn. It burned through me.
I now walk upon two legs, nose to ground,
pluck this flame from my chest and bottle it.
All my drawn carriages, empty. Hollowed
out kerosene for someone else’s sky.
DEEPLY INFILTRATIVE
the woman you assumed is a woman
drills holes into the side of your visage
as you speak to the clerk at the counter
inside the gynecology clinic
you know, you are not supposed to be here
at the minimally invasive surgeon
bearded hardened muscled as you appear
nothing of a girl or woman remains
never mind the war zone of your insides
never mind scarred & scorched earth of your womb
never mind your pain grows oceanic
never mind what you’ve suffered to be here
speaking to the clerk, voice strong tender but
grieving that your body won’t be a door
Michal ‘MJ’ Jones (they/he) is a poet, parent, and editor living in Oakland, CA. Their poetry has appeared in the American Academy of Poets, Obsidian, Split This Rock, Muzzle Magazine, TriQuarterly Review, ANMLY, & elsewhere. Their debut collection of poetry, HOOD VACATIONS, won the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry. They are also the author of a chapbook, SOFT ARMOR (2023), from Black Lawrence Press.