by Alec Prevett
I was born in
the same hospital
as my father Does that
make me eligible
to be a father
Can the gender
less father I can
crush the bulb
of a flower
until prematurely
its petals
shoot forth
like a hundred
violet limbs I say
genderless but mean
genderful like how
white is the whole
spectrum at once I have
asked my body what it
wants, offered
to plant a garden
in its chest, use
the ribs as a trellis
for the ivy, or
maybe grape
vines Oh, there’s
the purple
again And really grow
ain’t the same as birth
My body is pink-limbed,
does not respond
to queries, only chants
I will be phenomenal I will
be phenomenal I will be
Alec Prevett is a human pursuing an MFA in fiction from Georgia State University. Their recent work can be found in or is forthcoming from Booth, Five:2:One, Lammergeier, and several other wonderful places on the web. They live in Atlanta with Patches, their chubby, cuddly, calico cat. You can find more of their work at alecprevett.com