Trans Woman Speaks in Cento

by Benny Sisson

 

the glass woman is an empty feeling and an enactment of power

the bubbling up of a spectacular nasty

the pink velour fabric that cools the hairs on your thighs

the hairs that stick out of the black tights and itch so damn bad
 

The portrait of a woman drawn by a woman who is not a man

the men wear goggles to see the women

they see and they search
 

He called me his little princess,

I called him my sponsor

He called me a sugarplum,

and I thought of the bright yellow

plums we picked from grandpa’s yard
 

sold on the side of the street

gave our first customer a coupon

we counted the coins in the drawer

we couldn’t wait to get back out there.

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Benny Sisson is a trans poet and writer, who also works in publishing. She holds a BA from UArizona, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Adelphi University. Her work has been featured with Lunch Ticket, Foglifter Press, New Delta Review, and elsewhere. She is currently a Marketing Assistant for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Book and Media, and lives in her hometown of Tacoma, WA.