Riots Kill Kings Not Queens

By Jaxx Davis

Part One

They thought we forgot how to march, 

that the only thing we remembered to do was love. 

Having the desire of our loved ones 

on our lips. 

Having a singular use for our hips. 

They thought we forgot how to fight. 

Their closed fists and cracked lips tell a lie. 

We know the taste of blood on our teeth. 

We will never let go of the desire to be free. 

We don't riot, we are riot. 

Do you think we would ever forget? 

We are stones through the windows of the establishment, 

kicked in doors and open closets. 

If our freedom worries us, 

frankly, we don't care. 

We have risked our lives for this. 

We will gladly do so again. 

Part Two

Let them think we are mere birds. 

Did they forget birds wake you up? 

My sexuality is her. 

My gender too is 

whatever she  

sees in me. 

I have become 

books with uncracked spines 

and late night 

whispered conversations 

under two layers of blankets 

that keep the rest of the world out. 

I have become  

thick socks 

and the comfort 

of feelings her fingers 

walk all over my skin. 

If my kisses are enough to hate,  

I'll kiss harder.  

I am made for this sweet cherry taste.  

And if my they or my them  

has them bothered, 

they can take themselves far away. 

For these hands fit her body like magic, 

and my mouth is built around her. 

And if you found that description too graphic, 

It's honestly whatever, 

Because  

I will gladly let her walk all over me, 

but you won't get a step in. 

If I go down, 

it will be in sin. 

---

Jaxx Davis (they/them) is a trans fat queercrip activist and artist and a genuine menace on wheels. They write, they art, they scold, they teach. They do a lot of things, except being healthy. You can find them on a lot of platforms as @slaapkameractivist and their art is on Instagram as @singularitypoetry