Having stripped off the skirt and the jewelry
and wiped off the lipstick amidst the beard,

eyes and body cleansed of all adornments
fussed over and fought for against stubborn

family elders, yet fawned over by kind friends,
I dip my fresh old self into the warm still

water over and over for the attendant’s amen,
and when they wrap me back into the towel

and I open the door leading back to my effects,
now with even cleaner nails and face and being,

even now, I see a new queer lovely in the mirror,
the changing creature that I lead the charge to love.

Stevie Subrizi is a genderqueer poet and singer-songwriter in Allston, Massachusetts. They are a former cohost of the Boston Poetry Slam while its home was the Cantab Lounge. Their poems have been published in places like NAILED, FreezeRay, and Neon, and their new EP Nightstands is up on Bandcamp now.. www.steviesubrizi.com