# #transit

4 poems

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

shoes stick to the floor,  
we wander past the bar  
into a dim red-lit lounge.  
pinball, locked door, you.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
pull your curtain closed—  
shroud us in secrets that  
end just above our waist.

tap on a train faregate,  
a beep reminds us that  
transportation isn’t free,  
a short trip still costs us.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
see what we’re made of.  
we’re trapped here now,  
we can’t hide from flash.

all whirring and waiting.  
don’t know how long ’til  
our capture, our release.  
we kiss from impatience.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
our mouths are blurring,  
hands in hair, bite marks  
in flesh. we have no time.

falling back into the light.  
was there music before?  
we lean against the box,  
we cannot lose contact.  
you’re a seeing machine.  
you take time to develop.  
wait here: a strip will fall.  
freeze us in four frames.

![Black-and-white four-frame photobooth strip of two people kissing.](https://chromato.graphics/_astro/photobooth.CBK1CijU_Z184ngP.webp)

## [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

## [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

## [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