Hey cuties,
It’s pride month, and I’ve decided to round up some gay shit to re-share rather than arm wrestle myself into compiling new thoughts that aren’t fully percolated. I hope you’re taking good care of yourselves and that you find something new in these old words. <3 <3
First, here are two poems published in my debut poetry collection, Modern Madonna. This was a collection that I had been compiling for a few years, and in pre-pandemie 2020, planned to self-publish and then do a scrappy book tour with, etc, etc. Of course, life had other plans, and I ended up starting the digitally-focused pub house, Party Trick Press, with my brilliant friend Megan and publishing Modern Madonna as part of our “first capsule collection.”
I’m still really proud of the poems in that book, and these are two that I wanted to share today. :)
GODDAMN THEY MADE YOU PERFECT
I was wine-drunk
and writing poems
last night
about you
Yes drunk
Yes you
I know
I know it’s like
not cool
to drink to feel
or to drink
to not feel
but like
my whole life
I’ve trained myself
not to be
who I am
I’ve named every feeling
a stranger
shut the door
turned the key
So is it so bad
to have a friend
in a substance
Three glasses deep
and I hear doorbells
like Oh ya
Okay
I still
fucking love you
or at least
there are still
all these feelings
I never really felt
and fuck
ing hell
I wish you were in my bed
right now
in this lonely basement
in this prairie town
And goddamn
they made you perfect
like an ear of grain
held up close
and taken in
by sight
by touch
remembered
fully
UNREQUIT-ED
Is it unrequit-
ed
If I didn’t quite know
yet
If I couldn’t quite say
it
And what if I had said
that
What if you had known
it
Would you have said
no
or led me on with a not
yet
Would you have in-
stead
Taken me by my teen
hand
Would you have put your fore-
head
together with mine and said
Yes
I do feel that and you are worth
it
Would soft hands have led to soft
lip
smackers flavours mixing lip to
lip
Would we now be quite requit-
ed
High school lovers like we meant
it
Okay, cute. I hope you liked those. I also wanted to share these old Mad Notes…
This one I published for Bi-Visibility Day: Big Feels on Being Invisible, Even to Myself
This recent one on new gay feels: Big Feels on the Lesbian Master Doc
Last, but not least, here is a new-ish poem published with Lesbians Are Miracles in their Growth issue.
Happy pride, babies! I hope you’re celebrating in whatever big or small ways feel wholesome to you.
Talk soon,
Natahna
The Recommends: The show, First Kill, on Netflix. So bad. So good. So gay.
I love reading your poetry 💜 And that photo is fantastic — so artsy and vintage looking!