Sex+: “asexuality poem,” by Sosie Chery

asexuality poem

sometimes i like to pretend i’m so pretty i barely exist: 
just a bit of gloss over everything. no plot, just perfect curve 
of my character arc: smooth as galatea repetrified, 
shapely as cupid’s cupid’s bow. eros & thanatos appeal to me 
but only symbolically: striking metaphors, but flesh 
in the flesh? don’t make me retch. i wanna be barbie: 
no genitals, just Girl. no gender, just Girl 
& Pink! i love pink because it’s so pretty it barely exists:
just a nicer way to say red when you don’t want to scare people
by saying red. live that vie en rose, très chic! la petite mort 
with the emphasis on petite: so petite it barely exists, 
because i don’t want it literally, only literarily, so that i sound deep.
deep, haha. insert yonic joke here. insert joke about the word insert.
insert 16-gauge needle into median cubital vein 
while i lie on my back. red cross phlebotomists open my skin 
as if it were my legs. sometimes i like to pretend i let them
take more blood than they’re supposed to, take more & more until 
well i don’t know what because then i stop fantasizing. 
lovely daydream but i get the ick from hypovolemic shock. 
anyways before you donate they make you fill out this questionnaire 
about all the types of sex you’ve been having. i check no
enough times & i feel like i barely exist, which is pretty 
nice.

About Sosie Chery

Sosie Chery (she/her) is a writer and teacher. She has previously been published in Dishsoap Quarterly.