Clitbait

Luna

My mother used to live on the moon. 
She orbited my planet and controlled my weather. 
She smiled in my sunshine, and soothed my monsoons
Until they were drizzle on my cheeks.
During the days she turned to smoke,
But like the tides she always came back. 
She pleated my hair and spoke 
Of faraway lands before bedtime. 

She was forever leaving gifts on my doorstep, 
And remembering my favourite colour. 
She listened to my stories, and she spent
Her time on me, despite the distance.
My small arms reach out into the night and it seems 
As though I could clutch that white speck in my palms.
My spaceman mother, a woman of dreams. 

Robyn Barclay (she/her)

Instagram: @rxbynelena 

Masculinity is an old friend

I don’t think it’s fair to blame
My father who wanted a son
Or society who wanted
To treat me just a little worse
In truth, masculinity fit me well

For my sister, she claimed
The feminine through force
Pressed on nails and
Eyes winged perfectly
Despite protests or 
Hollow calls against

But I couldn’t find space 
for me with that paradigm
Until talking with a friend
He unraveled the gendered
Pointed out he was just a man
Who liked “feminine things”

Until the tarot brought me
The sun and the moon
Push and pull of tides
Both held within our husks
To give and to take 
and to give again

When masculinity calls
Like an old friend, I answer
Remember times they held me
Moments they made me worse
But recollection not regret
Reminds me why 
We don’t stay in touch

Magda Nawrocka-Weekes (she/they)
Instagram: @xan6ua