I
You were my hollow sweet sixteen.
Red lacquered, nickel-wound erogeny,
String suspenders holding up the pants
Of talentless pretense.
 
II
When I dance alone I do it
With one arm up and fingers curled
As if entertaining an absent partner.
The way you fit so intimately
Etched into muscle memory.
 
III
When you dance you don’t.
You stare at me with the cockeyed glance
Of f-holes and pearlescent inlays,
As if to say, “Are you really all I have
To look forward to?”
 
IV
Androgyny goes a long, strange way.
You are caught between the
Ridiculous phallucy of your neck
And the curve of a nubile waist.
 
V
A humpback whale, with baleen teeth,
Filtering notes into dischord and pink krill.
A skirt I can hide behind,
A necklace I can wear.