invertebrate (a lament)
i daydream about grammar ,
specifically pronouns whose utterance would crack
in the mouth like a lightbulb .
evoking me should pierce tongues .
the time i spend toothaching over pronouns
who ’ d bore holes in sentences and shuck words
like pearls off a necklace
could be used for more productive things ,
but ‘ they ’ hardly slakes me some days
and i am wary of making products .
there will be no babies out of me .
i want pronouns that ’ d withstand being slammed
between magnets of ‘ his ’ and ‘ hers ’ . i want to be stretchy .
i don ’ t want to stop sucking taffeta long enough to re – explain .
i want to peel off context , have honey without comb ,
but it seems my gender is in the details .
it is like the devil in that way .
Hannah Abigail Clarke is here and queer, etc. They are a Masters student in the Program of Humanities at the University of Chicago and have previously been published in Eidolon, Portland Review, and PRISM international. His debut novel, The Scapegracers, is to be released in 2020 via Erewhon Books. She’s a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellow.
