Poem published in Geez Magazine | November 2012 | Circulation: 2,000 readers

the borders that restrain our movement
are not so easy to defy
when lines are drawn with
man’s gaze, soft skin, blue eyes,
gated wickets, customs denial/smile

our bodies counter
with fumbling, militant movements:
regender/unclass/erase–
all monitored across lines
proclaimed more tightly than gospel

my desire, impotent
to break these,
still blooms, yearning–
o mystical rose, queen of martyrs,
touch us / remain