A Poem by Xandria Phillips

Author: Poetry Editor

February 12, 2018

This week, a poem by Xandria Phillips.

 

Before The Dyke There Was Only Girl Crush

 

I’m tender femme           crossing legs under desk

when I think of Ciara            & Angela from Boy Meets World

I’m a soldier           & I’m here to stand up for me

I’m the first god           born by mother’s assertion

she wants to be just like them           like them like them

Like them girls           in track pants & navel rings?

I did           in the dark, doubling over in fond wet

I loved myself           If she’s me, I can always hold her

——

XANDRIA PHILLIPS is a poet based in Chicago. Her chapbook, Reasons For Smoking, won the 2016 Seattle Review chapbook contest judged by Claudia Rankine. Find her work at The Offing, The Journal, Nashville Review, Ninth Letter, and Scalawag, or visit xandriaphillips.com.

Photo by Nicholas Nichols