# #intimacy

4 poems

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

a girl’s gotta eat,  
grow big & strong  
food becomes fuel  
fired brick oven

i have reservations,  
my seat’s set aside  
gin martini stirred—  
small coin of lemon.

white pressed linens  
red leather cushions  
polished steel fixtures  
scarred marble veins

amuse my palate  
gift from the chef  
_we kindly request:_  
_no sharing allowed_

a girl’s gotta eat,  
wash away fears  
enjoy my choices  
wet lips, appetite

taste first with eyes  
each flavor distinct:  
salt, grit, acid, burn  
hungering for it all

the first bite builds  
anticipation of more—  
a mindless chewing,  
my posture softens

i lick your plate clean  
_it’s been taken care of_  
have i saved any room?  
no, some other time

## [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