# #lipstick

2 poems

## [AS 21](https://chromato.graphics/as21)

if you’re hearing this,  
it’s ’cause i trust you.  
there’s a lot of detail,  
high resolution scans.

i take an early flight.  
nothing good is easy.  
_what am i forgetting?_  
chocolate orange peels.

i program on the airplane  
to distract from humming  
in my eardrums; an engine  
whirring to life in my chest.

she applies the night before  
risks her body just for more.  
she knows she has to see it  
before i remember my face.

jetway’s made of glass,  
eyes have steel blades.  
_what am i forgetting?_  
54-inch red shoelace.

_“do you want to get the  
fuck out of this airport?”_  
she picks up both bags  
before i can say a word.

she borrows a tapedeck.  
i hold her knee. _is this ok?_  
the postal service can’t  
ship this in a flat rate box.

distance desires ritual  
we find a matchbook  
_what am i forgetting?_  
ashen coffee. burning.

the next thing i know  
we’re at the terminal.  
lipstick can stain more  
than cardboard cups

**time stopped in total:**  
14 hours, 28 minutes

## [gender.app](https://chromato.graphics/genderapp)

pull out my phone  
tap on the app  
needs to update…  
they always do

new gradient  
same icon shape  
wide colorspace  
hard to adjust

why do we all  
want to shapeshift?  
to be seen through  
filters we make

on the G train  
dark grey sweatshirt  
black leather boots  
riding crosstown

slider tempts me—  
drag it slowly  
no one else stares  
they just don’t care

this is my stop:  
girl in red dress  
heels to match her  
lipstick and tits

costume changes  
inside closets  
infinite fits  
incoherence

it’s not just me,  
everyone plays  
gender’s this game’s  
in-app purchase

micro actions  
& transactions  
never enough  
to fill the space

if i’m always  
searching for it,  
the right setting,  
flipping through them

will i know when  
i have nailed it?  
new release notes:  
patches the bugs

what if i’m stuck  
inside a loop?  
keep it running  
there’s no kill switch