My Gender, a Wildfire
Haley Pate
The child I once was will
peel back my petals and say
This is how you bloom;
Falling silently resigned to
burning standards unlike mine,
I exist in rain and rebirth.
Flaming bark singing skin,
smoke signals in my identity,
I am blooming ashen agony,
sunrise twice brighter
at this name I realize
was always mine.
They were right when
they compared me to my father.
I am a sharp blade sparking
against rocks inciting change.
Till I consume this binary
binding with heat from my core.
Don't know a man by
the timber of his voice,
Don't know me by
my given name
But know me as
I choose to be.
Haley Pate is a young queer writer and artist from the Southeast US, as well as an Alabama School of Fine Arts alumni. They are currently pursuing a BA in both business and liberal arts. Being rooted in Birmingham, the cultural hub of Alabama, they grew to become deeply passionate about the importance of community and the liberation of artistic expression. They have had their work showcased in Cadence, The Roanoke Review, The Sheepshead Review, and The Athena Review. Additionally, they have received awards from the Alabama Writer's Forum for both their poetry and nonfiction works.