Love from the Margins
By Summer Santos Webber
She/Her/Sir
A black belt bulldyke
clad in digital camo fatigues
blows smoke into my smiling face
Her slim fingers hold a cigarette
to smooth lips and my heart softens
as she sings Menocide
for her gunmetal mohawk for her eyes
those guilt-burdened melting glaciers
My consummate switch kneels needs
the comforting constriction of her collar
face flushed and trust overflowing
as tears and as my tongues and knives trace
her ears Mami’s good girl sighs
in contented relief as I grant her release
When she secures her manhood and stares me down
eyes ablaze with cruel intent
my muscles relax and my mind fuzzes
in chemically induced compliance (libertad
por fin) she leans into my latent desires
steals my agency Sir owns me
I Am All the Women I Have Ever Known
They say it takes a village to raise a child,
to take a girl, or a boy, and make a woman of her.
My village had the usual suspects: my mother, aunts,
grandmother, abuelita, tías, teachers, friends,
therapists, girlfriends, ex-wife - uncountable women,
women who have helped me, women I have helped
women who have hurt me, women I have hurt
I want to thank them all, I want to apologize too,
but the words tumble down, unsaid, useless. I try
every tongue I know, but my tongues are tied, and no
words, not in English, né íslensku, pas
français, ni español, ne englisc suffice
to express my gratitude for how they have shaped me.
If I cannot thank them with my words, then I’ll
become a woman worthy of their work instead.
Summer Santos Webber lives in Davenport, Iowa, with three cats and a puppygirl. Under a different name and in a different life, she earned her MFA in Literary Translation and PhD in English Literature at The University of Iowa. She has published pieces in various places, but has not published since she took on her current name, and she does not wish to deadname herself by telling you where to find it. Follow her on Bluesky: ts-eliot@bsky.com and Instagram: @_ts_eliot
Photographer credit: Moxxi Mourningstar
