it is the time of year we mourn the people
we moved to this city for / when i say
jaded i mean i’ve seen myself crawling
backwards out of every new year’s
haunted mouth / i dare you to mis[s]-
gender me as narcissus / consider
i dove towards the shape further [past/
passed] my reflection / consider i
never planned on surviving-- if strength
is found in the supporting minutiae
between more authoritative muscle
groups / then might gender be
the space undefined / between
when i am moving / but before
i land?
L. R. Bird (they/them) is an interdisciplinary archivist currently surviving small-town America. They are the author of BLOODMUCK (The Atlas Review, 2018) and INVENTION OF THE MOUTH (Dream Pop Press, 2019). birdpoet.github.io