Why do I only want grammatical
why do I only want
grammatical coherence, why is it my only
note, I want
grammatical and philosophical
coherence, as I see it I resent
cis anyone in the position
of incoherence like a womb
a waiting room
why shouldn’t they have it?
just because
other white people praise me
for this pose
and punish me if I do not adopt it
doesn’t mean no one
should have any fun
or need tell me a story
instead of a forest, the pathless
forest after which you get
married where I do, in fact, live
but am not permitted
to visit
grammatical coherence, why is it my only
note, I want
grammatical and philosophical
coherence, as I see it I resent
cis anyone in the position
of incoherence like a womb
a waiting room
why shouldn’t they have it?
just because
other white people praise me
for this pose
and punish me if I do not adopt it
doesn’t mean no one
should have any fun
or need tell me a story
instead of a forest, the pathless
forest after which you get
married where I do, in fact, live
but am not permitted
to visit
Stephen Ira is a writer and performer. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in FENCE, Poetry, and other venues. He is a co-founder and co-editor of Vetch: A Magazine of Trans Poetry and Poetics. Ira has performed his solo work at venues like La Mama, directed several short plays, and originated roles in new works by Maxe Crandall and Bernadette Mayer. In 2013, he was a Lambda Literary Fellow. He studied poetry at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.