Gender Shrug

damn gametes

it’s fortunate, no doubt
for medicine to be so synonymous
with treating a condition

it’s privilege, truly
to take matters into your own hands
and force an institution to
support all your endeavors

The still-wrapped gift

The bicycle beckoned. “My body aches to be used,” I explained.

It did. The exercise of my body’s raw force brought benefits of mental health, of improved fitness, of a way to enjoy the beautiful day, and even of better sleep.

on bodies, specifically ours

we’re here now,
you and i,
an ally, i can only assume
in full bloom
beneath these sheets

Second-guessing my gender transition

It’s been nearly a year now since I marched out of the City-County Building in Pittsburgh, flush with a court order, around town to update my identity documents. I fought hard for a new name — and a new gender. The spike heels I’d paired with my red polka-dotted…

checkpoint in a rising tide

I love my body.

I loved it before, too,
when it was all thin lines and scruff
and I was finally embracing my Y
(with no shortage of retrospective irony).
Legs which carried me into mountains and across finish lines, 
arms with biceps just the right size…