Written after a day trip to Ocean Park, Hong Kong There you are,Attired in a smooth black swim suitYour boneless neck swervingto kiss the rod in the right place.A whistle,A satin,Rewarding the twisting and turningOf your bendy body and flappy fins.Children laughing and cheering and yappingat your candid dancing moves.You seemed happy – fulfilled.Protected and…
Tag: Writing
Reason, Religion, Abortion: A Less Tentative Response
A side effect of being an editor is that bad-faith arguments hurt my soul. It’s actually a really interesting thing to feel as it happens. Kind of feels like heartburn. And what’s odd is it starts as a feeling and then I have to figure out what is making me feel that way. I’ve studied…
Different Values (Caturday Questions)
Big Cat, Middle Cat, and Little Cat have been roommates with Human-Mom for quite some time. How do they live together when their values are so different? Human mom’s idea of a good time involves tea and maybe waffles and maybe sitting down together (over Zoom) to do some writing. The cats’ idea of a…
From Pride 2022 to “Don’t Say Gay”
Yesterday marked the end of Pride 2022. All of the corporate rainbow logos will go back into the closet for another year and whatever rainbow capitalism items were in the stores will be marked down. Remember to stock up for next year, okay? Pride has been unusually challenging for me this year. I’ve been going…
Queer Pride and Self-Care
I’ve written a number of pieces for this website about my experiences as a rape survivor. I’ve written about how important it was for me to change my own language about my experience–to use the word “rape” instead of “sexual assault.” And I’ve written about consent and mental health, I’ve written about the way we…
Roe v Wade: News into Art (Caturday Questions)
We had a cartoon prepared for today. Then Roe v Wade got overturned and now it doesn’t feel right to do the same kind of piece we usually do. Still. Here’s the comic right at the top if you’re looking for a quick smile. CONTENT WARNING (if you continue below the comic) discussions of sexual…
Coming Out: That Lightbulb Moment
A note on language. This story about coming out is being told through the prism of memory. So the scenes that take place in the late ’80s and early ’90s contain some language that implies a gender-binary. We have allowed that language to stand to reflect the author’s understanding of the world in that era,…
Weather, or The Pathetic Fallacy (Caturday Questions)
Middle Cat is writing a story, and Little Cat is looking over his shoulder making unhelpful suggestions. “You’re tempted, aren’t you?” yowls Little Cat. “You’re tempted to make the weather reflect the mood of the story. To make the sad moments take place in the rain and the joyous moments take place in full sunlight….
My Grandfather’s Good Hand
Last night somewhere dark hung with picturesMy grandfather was walking behind me whenHe fellBecause he had died some months before; I turned around to see:Frightful wounds were opening on his bodyI reached for his hand to help him upHe extended the good hand The good hand that had always worked for twoWhose grip, as he…
Learning to Take up Space
Pride started as a riot. And since then it’s been somewhere between a protest and a party. What if this year, for me, Pride Month is about figuring out how to take up space and find my seat at the table? In other words, about finding my Pride? These days, I take up space mainly…