CW: food/diet

I go vegan I think because of,

not for, you. You make it possible

to imagine tasty plants beyond

pasta dishes, beyond dishes piling

up on the counter, beyond dishwater.

Honestly I used to bathe in it, food

particles getting in my hair like sand

and drying there, but you raise me

out of the swamp that is my palate.

I stop having flesh in my teeth,

I stop having grit in my nails,

the grease of fat on my clothes.

You clean me up, make me humane.

I love the chicken, pet the pig.

Between me and the bull

there’s a brotherhood, but it takes

leaving you to begin the work

of becoming a man

or something like one.

Matagumpay is a Filipino trans/genderqueer writer, artist, and drag performer who grew up in South Carolina and is now living in Berlin. His work is about queer desire and community. You can visit his website at mikaellaantonio.com and follow him on Instagram @matagumpay.