This feature, chosen by Guest Editor Ezra Fox, is from The Weather Inside by Stevie Edwards (University of Arkansas Press 2026).
Manifesto of a Dormant Pansexual
My sexuality used to be a Lisa Frank folder
with a unicorn on it. Now it’s more of a KitchenAid
stand mixer, but I’ve got rainbows on my underpants
for nobody to see. My sexuality used to be
a wild, ravenous thing. Now it’s on a low-carb diet
and tries to get out and walk for ten thousand steps a day
but usually fails at it. My sexuality is married to
a sexuality. Facebook thinks my sexuality
is pictures of Emma Watson and Selena Gomez.
It’s true I slow down as I scroll through
their glam shots, but I’m more of a whiskey
and flannel fan. My sexuality misses coming out
to brunch, wants to order the sweetest
item on the menu—sweet grit cakes
and peach compote with whipped cream,
Yes, please! My sexuality keeps ordering
a yogurt parfait and coffee, something sensible.
My sexuality is a nice summer breeze
tousling my hair. My sexuality is I only shave
my pubes when a bathing suit is required.
My sexuality is a one-piece bathing suit,
has gotten shy with age, only wants one person
to see their midsection. My sexuality is often
covered up but has a rib tattoo you’ll never see.
My sexuality has never really liked porn.
My sexuality was once a pillow princess.
My sexuality is ambivalent about strap-ons
but is happy to split the check for dinner.
Dr. Stevie Edwards (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at Clemson University and Poetry Editor of The South Carolina Review. Stevie’s poems have appeared in Poetry, American Poetry Review, TriQuarterly, The Southern Review, and elsewhere. She is the author of Quiet Armor (Northwestern University Press, 2023), Sadness Workshop (Button Poetry, 2018), Humanly (Small Doggies Press, 2015), and Good Grief (Write Bloody Publishing, 2012). Her next book, The Weather Inside, is forthcoming from the University of Arkansas Press in Spring 2026 as part of the Miller Williams Poetry Series edited by Patricia Smith. She holds a PhD from the University of North Texas and an MFA from Cornell University. Originally a Michigander, she now lives in South Carolina with her spouse and a small herd of rescue pitbulls. She is on the Editorial Board at SAFTA.
Ezra Fox (they/he) is a Best of the Net nominee who lives and writes in San Francisco, CA and holds an MFA from Indiana University. A Breadloaf, Tin House, and Lambda Literary Fellow, and recipient of the Lili Elbe Memorial Scholarship, which recognizes transgender writers of exceptional promise, their work appears or is forthcoming in TriQuarterly, The Pinch, Fourteen Hills, Interim, and elsewhere. Additionally, they won the 2025 West Trade Review Poetry Prize, and currently serve as assistant judge of the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Apart from writing, Ezra maintains a daily practice of reconnecting with their inner child: roller-skating, playing drums, and enjoying animated films and theme parks. In quieter moments, they can be found sharing cups of tea and sweet treats with their beloveds. Learn more about Ezra at ezrafox.net or on Instagram @ezraxfox. 
