Familiar
by H.E. Casson
CW: cPTSD, flashbacks, trauma, gender dysphoria
ah this is familiar this heat under my ribs
activated my brain sends signals only birds can hear
years drop off like skin dry paper
i am not my head it chafes
i am the unprotected hollow in my heart
i tourist in this shaking
i mimic when i was she’d
a melon baller should do the job
carve it out
and let me be grown again
H. E. Casson (they/them) is a queer writer and voice actor whose words have been shared by Taco Bell Quarterly, Apparition Lit, Cast of Wonders, and the League of Canadian Poets. H. E.’s voice can be heard in Moonbase Theta Out, Disenchanted, and Seminar. They can be found online at hecasson.com and as @hecasson on Twitter.