The Dying
M Robin Cook
“Do I need to be inspected, vivisected by the people
who laughed at me, to receive my credential?”
— Rick O’Bomon
I say hey girl
with sugar on the top and you say haaay grrrl
flaming’s never gonna stop you say? you draggin’ breath
with painted lips all pursed and puckered
for these downtown seers
lookin’ for an all day sucker you go wonder in
through trashy glitzy streets while you are panderin’
the future citizens you greet
in dark alley ways
in smoky haze
in passion plays
in groovy raised letters make a book in time
slip through dog-eared pages
it’s only one thin dime
the glass will clear and bare its treasures
reveal its pleasures
drop the coins and pull the lever
ages in we’re not so clever
are we? were we ever?
here I am still down (I’m always down) upon my knees
a genuine reflection of the silky sylphs of sleaze
and empty sleeves
where nothing’s up but memories
I worship at the altar of my childhood recollections
when my soul escaped detection
through a slightly handy feat of misdirection
I’m a tempting sort
so what happened?
when did turnin’ transy tricks give way
to buggerin’ myself for free
in dirty stinking city alleys
where you come to take my assays
home?
you stand in beauty like the night
holding forth a lightless light
greeting ships that pass in spite of how you deign to sink them
if copper plate could rust
you would be on your knees
beside me swallow in your sticky dreams
by slow degrees
a gender free
gratuity of cum and blood and
sanity
wretched refuse all that’s left
green into pitch
scorching stinking in the sunset
hungry cranes they lie in wait
to dine on huddled masses
until all that’s left is. . . ?
M Robin Cook is queer non-binary trans woman interested in doing her bit to de-marginalize persons and worthwhile things. She is an American living, loving and writing in Copenhagen with the best partner ever. She loves to move folks when she can, maybe even change them a little. Mostly, she just likes good stories. Her stories, poems and drawings have appeared in The Collection (Topside Press, 2012) and the HIV Here & Now Project (Indolent Books, 2016). She has work slated to appear in the upcoming Trans Women Across Genres from EOAGH.
