because i am trans, i can’t desire
can’t open the softness of my vulnerability to you,
tell you why misgendering stings and slurs
fill me with the rage of a thousand suns—
can’t be anything but a debate topic
exercise in civil discourse, can i occupy public space

just so you can be intellectually stimulated
because i am trans, write a fucking essay about me
pros and cons of my existence—
care more about the sanctity of the public restroom
than this cast-off body, this broken

utopia. i’m not even athletic, but you don’t know that
politicizing my every motion, if trans people shouldn’t participate in sports
maybe debating you should be
redefined as a sport, with its endless
scorekeeping over objects that only have meaning
when a dudebro says so. because i am trans

i become an AI for you
there is a list of your “transgender questions” in my inbox
and i cannot ignore it, knowing that if you go unanswered
your assumptions become laws and edicts—all i can do

is nod and smile and privately wonder
if you identify as an annoyance.

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mk zariel (it/its) is a trans masculine poet, theater artist, movement journalist, & insurrectionary anarchist. it is fueled by folk-punk, emma goldman, and existential dread. it can be found online at linktr.ee/mkzariel, creating conflictual queer-anarchic spaces, and being mildly feral in the great lakes region. it is kinda gay ngl.