Can’t you tell by my dark eyes

and my Doc Martins

and my edgy poetry

and the red flecks of your throat

in my teeth 

    <how embarassing

you’d think people would have

the decency to tell me but it’s hard

to speak when your tongue is

dissolving in my belly 

       <eyes don’t

agree with me these days, there’s something

about the jelly and the way

I can feel you judge me 

           <you were always like that

even before I broke your heart

           >

       >

   >

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.

---

Sy is a queer non-binary Scottish poet. They write through the haze of cat-/child-induced sleep deprivation to make sense of gender, relationships, and ADHD. Their work has been published in Popshot Quarterly, Perhappened, and Capsule Stories, among others. Find them at sybrand.ink and on Twitter @TartanLlama.