# poems · page 3

## [eigengrau](https://chromato.graphics/eigengrau)

the only way to ignore  
the sunrise is to close  
our eyes at daybreak

white light pours through  
delicate curtain lace—  
an unseen ocean roiling

more to see and to say  
as blue waves beckon,  
calling toward tomorrow

but no matter what we try,  
there’s no true darkness.  
light seeps in everywhere

the shade we find there  
feels almost ultraviolet;  
we see it together, apart

in separate beds, rooms  
on opposed coasts, we  
conjure the same cosmos

this color could be our own.  
when other lovers see it too,  
do they know we bathe in it?

## [108°C](https://chromato.graphics/108c)

sunny side up eggs  
cook with sunshine  
denaturation begs,  
bonds across time

waveformed Q train  
park date prospects  
PascalCase names  
everywhere object

polycarbonate layers  
exposed gold livewire  
angel of gay prayers  
film stock, unexpired

bumblebee chapstick  
seeing in rainbows  
jet turbine fuel drips  
one port won’t close

## [nude](https://chromato.graphics/nude)

back then, i saw your body just on screens —  
pinpricks of light transferred across the line.  
soft curves and folds, i felt you in my dreams;  
those pictures, now, are burned into my mind.

and then i touched your silken skin at last,  
traced these lines with red ink until they dripped,  
gripped thighs while kissing slow, then hard & fast,  
embraced to warm the places we had stripped.

but now i’m separated from your touch,  
yearning for the ways we fit, like jigsaw  
pieces you never need to force too much.  
despite it all : _i’m here. i won’t withdraw._

you’re nude before my eyes, no matter where.  
i’ll drink you up and leave them none to spare.

## [a⸺part](https://chromato.graphics/apart)

thin string between us  
stretching miles  
connecting our chests

  
tension we can sense  
tugging twine  
winding over land  


we set it aside  
knotted tight  
when we’re together

  
the rope uniting us  
untying now  
because we’re home  


  
we don’t need help  
to touch  
when we’re here  


## [ftl](https://chromato.graphics/ftl)

random chance meeting  
sweater that shimmers  
parties are fleeting  
your glances glimmer

post selfies in slack  
our dms vanish  
a coffee date ask  
making a plan-ish?

calls about lost work  
texts about gender  
watching your lil’ smirk  
my heart grows tender

shopping for red skirts  
sharing a small lunch  
enjoying my quirks  
i’m having a hunch…

flirting a little  
to see if it sticks  
too noncommittal?  
or does it just click

late night at a show  
we let our legs brush  
at the bar i chose  
you admit your crush

a ride to your place  
the tension growing  
sharing a small space  
finally knowing

nervously waiting  
for you to arrive  
_fuck, now we’re dating._  
we instantly vibe

## [t4t](https://chromato.graphics/t4t)

i read that things used to be different for us. that we used to hide behind heavy coats, from ourselves. i read that we’d get compared to cigarettes on the street in broad daylight just for walking the wrong way. things are different for us now. not because we are the majority, but because we are not, and we know that. our difference is our value.

things changed because seasons did. the old trees that once ruled the forest have fallen, been subsumed into the soil. things changed because our elders fought for us and their enemies dwindled. life is no less complicated here and now. it may be more so. but that complexity, that intricacy, that is part of what makes this worth it.

i went on a date yesterday. they had two faces and three names. his lips felt like safety and possibility and becoming. we didn’t need to connect our brains with wires to see. we spoke the same language, we knew the same songs. our bodies united like an antique lock and key, lubricated with the oil of our passion. i want more. no, i need it.

all my friends are trans. i broke up with the ones who weren’t.  
they understood.

change is good. the people that don’t get that will never get us. not all change is for the better, but the potential for growth and for flourishing is all we have. the possibility that tomorrow will be a new day with new rules. and that we’ll be here for each other when it arrives. that we’ll nurture the seeds and each other. that we can.

## [just use mine](https://chromato.graphics/just-use-mine)

he’s wanted one, i think, a while  
still growing his, it takes its time  
i wonder: _why not just use mine?_

our parts are modular by design  
they’re aftermarket optimized  
hot-swappable and still divine

then i’m above and he’s below  
press into him, extend a loan  
tell him: _touch, like it’s your own_

he strokes it like a precious gift  
he must be worried, he’ll miss it  
the gratitude vibrates his wrist

he shakes as need remaps the mind  
and both our systems intertwine  
we once mistake his flesh for mine

i ask him softly if it was good  
he nods like i rewound the world  
we had made what no one could

## [poke](https://chromato.graphics/poke)

door opens— am i the fool?  
gloves snap, now i’m playing my role  
unstained steel tray cradles your tools  
you wash me clean, i cede control

you sketch small leaves in purple ink  
i play with you, this is our game  
when it’s all done, what will they think?  
art, artist, work— all share a name

calmly you ask “_ready for stabs?_”  
there’s not a way for me to know  
is this your temple or your lab?  
we share one breath, it’s time to go

your sword and your eyes penetrate  
music and pain blanket my brain  
sometimes we should disregulate  
questions pour out, blood from a vein

hours pass as you make passes  
pricks turn into private pleasure  
when we are through, our flesh collapses  
every mark is made forever

## [birdcage](https://chromato.graphics/birdcage)

you ask me if i’m okay  
⸻ with elevators?  
which strikes me odd,  
the way your eyes do

we board & take flight  
to the control room, 42  
teacups on brass hooks  
carefully cluttered views

press my buttons, down  
with the same force you  
use to operate machines.  
the right pressure matters

the doors close around  
your fingers, lights flicker  
surging harnessed power  
i can’t look away, i won’t

we fall together back to  
earth where we stumble  
into your unmarked van.  
click of clear recognition

the next time i step into  
your cage you kiss my  
eyes closed and pull a  
lever  
          that  
                  **stops**  
                             time

we’re suspended⸺ trapped  
in moments of wrought iron  
pressed against their grates  
and each other’s full frames

             for as long  
             as we are,  
             we get to  
             be happy

## [stick](https://chromato.graphics/stick)

winter cherry, lush  
pressed to the pane :  
clear swirling glass,  
vessels for grapes

red print attracts  
gazes from gays  
strange artifacts  
mouths go astray

first contact lasts  
longer than stains  
washed away fast —  
much like our brains

they always say  
lips that disguise  
can’t be the way,  
but never the why

shouldn’t we just  
paint what we feel  
even if lips must  
become the meal