I was encaged.

at the filligree age of 13
I told my childhood friend I had fallen
for the way freckles fell like sawdust on her teacup skin
and
the way her lips blushed around a cigarette that always burned too
close to the filter

In that town, with bleeding jaw
town like funeral bells
all were straight until proven otherwise.
in that town
ALL WERE SAFE UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE.
In 1892
the word bisexual was first used for being sexually attracted to both
women and
men.

Bisexuality does not explain
falling in love with fire.

can you imagine having a house with so much warmth and brown and wood and little things in it, kitschy and beautiful. paisley print and filligree. and you paint fruits and flowers on walls and paste up paper printed with wild animals and roll out thick rugs that your feet sink inches into, the edges rolled gold and the innards designed with leaves. and you live there forever and use the same chippedish dishes forever and the same blankets and embroidered pillowcases forever and you know every step on the staircase that squeaks and every nook where the spiders like to cob their webs. can you imagine the potted basil in the window.

Gerb in a gush goop lop lop
Sklop in a shock a mun julk

***** dewie
Lovx an huny ackvol

O say now
Pewb pewb
**** it good and hard
Uylm see
Stand in filligree lop
loshK
Two note steeve , none for me