i didn’t faint for feint of you
by Shana Bulhan
i code neon
whiten and wittify
no quiet or penance
just an ice dream of injury
to certify splendour
if not for whipped dew
then some damn flower
when i lose you
i won’t need to gender you
for i am stone
marking the spectre
no more chemical names
for our nights
someday the sky should open
or the earth
if we need it to be hell
then so be it
what is the point of womanhood
if all it does is wound?