an understudy is a transgression
it occurs / imitation
distaff counterpart
which exists for red playbills
witchblack plumes of tutu / tool
virtue in a corkscrew
can it compete with a map of Tasmania
funhouse mirror neck s-curves
will eventually make a circle
the doctor promises me
a quarter of swans are gay /
how many are like me
storkwhite & barren wings
beholden to Woman
I can never / should never
Joey Belonger is a queer transfeminine writer, educator, and printmaker from Chicago, IL. They currently live in Iowa City, where they are a poetry MFA candidate at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Previous work has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Cleaver, Storyscape, The Cardiff Review, and elsewhere. Follow them on twitter @JoebyElonger