For All That I Have Consumed (I: Carnivore), Robin Sinclair

I am sorry

when you felt my body ache for you,

it was not the throb of lascivity

but the pangs of hunger,

even as flesh twisted together like numinous mulberries

I was not there, in that silky lusting with you,

I was wrapped in a desperation to be you.

I am sorry

What, to you, was consecration

was revealed as consumption

A gender carnivore trying to

eat its way out of a cave as deep as a lifetime

through tunnels of flesh,

one taste of dignity per promise,

one morsel of trust at a time

until I vanish with still-empty innards.

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Robin Sinclair (they/them) is a queer, trans writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Their work can be found in various journals, including Trampset, Luna Luna Magazine, and Across The Margin. Find Robin at RobinSinclairBooks.com