
Remember when she drifted along the surface 
of the ocean, hair like kelp 
reflecting the surface of the sun. 
The whales extending their foreheads
to graze her shoulder. 
Her gaze rests on the gray cloud miles away, inching 
towards her Sāmoa. A few moments later, 
the sky opens with a hot downpour. 
She submerges her brown head 
into the Pacific, becomes ocean. 
Gives baby whales wet kisses. 
Peels back layers of coastline
to reveal the volcanic rock 
that whispers a secret: 
I'm not going anywhere. 

*

She is alive. Lights flash bright red. 
Then blue. What did she know 
about saving lives? She was someone's 
baby girl, pumpkin, angel, 
love dumpling, little one. 
Here she is on Atlantic Ave.,
at the house with the fig tree
that reminds her of Cameroon. The police car 
that she hijacked sits idly outside, 
the sirens no longer work. 
She packs her powder pink duffel
with playing cards, rope, a teddy bear
named Raven, sour patch kids, 
castor oil, and a red canvas notebook.
She walks past the painting on the wall 
of a full-circle rainbow glittering 
around a white sun. Outside the door, 
is a family of maybe five hundred.
Their bellies so accustomed 
to the pain of uncontrollable laughter.

*

The best part about being a trans girl 
is keeping the world&rsquo;s secret in your chest. 
We are shards of seaglass.


You see yourself in us:
Big and wide. Spines 
long enough to play with purple clouds. 
In the beginningthere was us. 
In the end, here we are. Here I am, 
made of the same stuff 
as my grandmother. And her grandmother. 
And the mushrooms that sprouted before her. 
Lift your head, close your eyes, 
do you hear yourself
breathing?


xoài phạm

Girls

xoài phạm

We Have Never Asked Permission to Sing

Girls