This selection, chosen by guest editor JJ Rowan, is from space neon neon space by luna rey hall, released by Variant Lit in 2022.
content warning for transphobia and mention of rape
tik-tok comment section
text of poem
have you had / surgery / ? / / girl! / that explains
a lot / on a side note, / strawberry beauty blender / i need
more sleep / people like this would be better off dead
/ like / an icon! / i didn’t know you were trans /
comment not available /
*panics in bi* / queen! / well, boys we lost
another one / cringe / what’s in / women’s pants
are a guessing game
/ … until i hear “how’s it going” in a deep voice…/ your a boy lol
/ i love it when women /
comment not available
/ i’d make it like blood for the blood gods / put some
uneducated people in place / with our / sacrifices / all i see & hear
is a man who can’t accept he’s a man *shrug emoji*
/ she more girly than me / couldn’t tell she was trans mtf /
thought she cis / GIRL GLOW UP / vibes = immaculate / you/
leading him on / that’s rape but go off sis
/ comment not available
/ fortnite? tonight? / respectfully… wow! / this comment section
is down bad / love your name— “to bind”
in Hebrew / am i the only one that doesn’t get it? /
take me with you, i’m already in Georgia / against
the natural order
tbh / ur a queen!
/ comment not available /
wait m to w or w to m? / looking like lily Aldridge / um you say trans
but which way / comment not available /
why would you do this? / GIRL! / it’s not too late
to repent for your sins! / transitioning towards
freedom of gender / wait you’re trans!? /
/ /
this comment section does not pass / the vibe check / skin envy /
drop the routine! / i’m proud of you / like really
/ really / proud of you / i’m obsessed,
/ every girl needs to shave her head at least once
luna rey hall is a queer trans writer. they are the author of four books including the upcoming novella-in-verse the patient routine (Brigids Gate Press, 2023). her poems have appeared in The Florida Review, The Rumpus, & Raleigh Review, among others.
JJ Rowan (they/them) is a queer nonbinary writer and dancer. Their poems, not-poems, and interactive performances have appeared in the tiny, Dream Pop Journal, 45th Parallel, and at the SMOL Fair and the Splinter Collective’s Interrupted by Trains, among others. Their most recent chapbook is a simple verb (Bloof Books). They are on the editorial team at just femme & dandy. You can sign up for their newsletter, actual motion, at their website.
