Butterflies

A poem recounting a personal experience with queerness and trauma and coming to terms with it.

Sometimes

A poem about unrequited feelings and the occasional resurfacing of memories that come with it.

Queer Next Up: Alex Penland

Alex Penland (they/them) is an author, creative writing student, Smithsonian alumnus, and linguist . They primarily write SFF (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction), but also dabble in poetry.

Nacre

A poem in yearning memory of a past relationship.

Straight Women Rules: A Guide to Being the Perfect Lesbian®

There’s a lot of wondering and a lot of waiting. I understand what you might be feeling. I know that you’re biting your tongue, and always waiting till you make them uncomfortable.

Sage Green Love Song

Give me something to leave behind
A sour candy kiss in the theater
Worse things have made me lose my mind.

parajitos

A poem about the way our institutions and some people fail to protect young trans people and profit off their deaths in different ways, while the people who loved them are left to deal with the actual grief. 

patchwork

This poem was originally published in our Spring 2022 print issue “Reflections of Radiance.”

we are
building a new life
painting a new life
writing a new life

Roots

Illustrated by Chrys Marr (She/They) This piece was originally published in our Spring 2022 print issue “Reflections of Radiance.“

i hate it that you know me

magician you don’t listen
all your tricks have worked on me
I’m in a hundred million pieces and we last spoke in my dreams
please lead me back inside the gardens where our lives and love have peaked