The Wardrobe's Best Dressed: space neon neon space by luna rey hall

This selection, chosen by guest editor JJ Rowan, is from space neon neon space by luna rey hall, released by Variant Lit in 2022.

say it with me

text of poem

we want a queer-ass story,
with queer-ass characters,
in a queer-ass setting
with them queer-ass earrings
& boots & those queer-ass flicks,
& subtle shades of gemstone,
tongues
ravaged by love,
that queer-ass elder letting us know
that new they/them
tiktoking their queer ass off, that salt breeze
from lake superior
bristling those queer-ass nose hairs
& all our hands in the water,
sand caught in the fat of our cuticles,
that gentleness
when night begins to take over

& there ain't a hint of trauma,
zero sadness
in this story
& fuck you

for thinking
otherwise.

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.