Phases

(For Emmett, neé Una)

He tells me:

if it’s a phase

it’s one that will shape him

all his days.

What makes a girl?

How do you find 

the end

and the beginning:

The shoulder, the heel,

the crown of the head?

Thirteen years ago

I watched the mirror, 

as frontwards facing,

arms folded like bat wings,

he descended.
Born inside the caul.

it’s a girl, they told me

as if anyone could be certain

about such a thing

unpeeling 

the membrane, 

revealing the face

tipping him into my arms

my body rushing towards him

instinct and adrenaline

love swept me to the floor

in a tide of blood

they stitched me up

but wounds open and close

it’s a boy, he tells me

I ask him:

what makes a boy,

how do you find the end

and the beginning

the shoulder, the heel,

the crown of the head, 

hair cut away 

to reveal a face