THREE POEMS by TENACITY PLYS
and you should be so lucky to find a woman like me
after Jenny HolzerTAKE SHITTY PHOTOS OF ME
WRITE SHITTY SONGS ABOUT ME
MAKE A SHITTY MOVIE ABOUT ME
PAINT ME LIKE YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRLS
TELL ME HOW YOU USE REAL FILM
OH WOW YOU'RE SO AUTHENTIC
TELL ME HOW YOU LIKE FRANK ZAPPA
GOSH WHAT ECLECTIC TASTE
PUT ME ON A PEDESTAL
THEN KNOCK ME DOWN
AND TELL ME YOU NEVER REALLY LOVED ME
BECAUSE I'M NEEDY
BECAUSE I'M DIFFICULT
BECAUSE I'M STRANGE
BECAUSE I'M DISTANT
BECAUSE I'M STUBBORN
BECAUSE I'M QUEER
BECAUSE I'M SMARTER THAN YOU
PRETEND YOU'RE INTELLECTUAL
FOR ONLY LOVING PEOPLE YOU'VE IMAGINED
WHO ONLY WANT YOUR DICK AND YOUR CONDESCENSION
Cantor's Lament
I guess what I’m trying to say is:
I am an infinity
Inside another infinity
And there are more infinities inside me;
When you interrupt me reading, I get disoriented
Because the me who says hello to you
Is not the me that reads,
Not the me who escapes in a flutter of dove’s wings
Or leathery bat fingers
And never wants to come back down.
When you see me on the street,
I might not recognize you
Because the me who says hello
Is not the me who walks,
Alone, forever, in my mind.
So you might need a smaller infinity
A countable one
One you can dip your toes in
And not worry about them getting bitten off
One where you can see all the way to the sand at the bottom.
Because I can’t have you interrupting
When I snicker to myself,
Because if you ask me what’s funny,
I won’t be able to tell you,
Because the me who would explain it
Is not the me who laughs.
a bunch of unrequited mundanities
what would you think
if i told you how many poems i've written
about that halo
in the air around your head?
you might find it creepy
you might be flattered
but i do know one thing
it wouldn't make your pulse jump
so your Fitbit thinks you're working out
it wouldn't make your heart get into a four car pileup
with your brain, your pituitary, and your guts
it wouldn't make you take my hands
look into my eyes
and say "oh my god
i feel the same
i can't believe it
this thing we've found
it's precious like the train pulling in
the moment you get to the platform,
or finding the last pint of your favorite flavor
in the very back of the bodega freezer
where you might not have known it existed;
you are the fifty dollars
in my venmo account
i forgot to transfer to my bank
and darling, i just remembered it."
so as far as you’re concerned,
my phone notes are my grocery lists
and nothing else.
Tenacity Plys is a nonbinary writer based in Brooklyn, with previous publications in Alien Buddha, Word Gathering, The New Engagement, Pif Magazine, and BlazeVOX. Xyr short story “I Love My AI Son” will be featured in Alien Buddha’s Best of 2022 anthology at the end of this year. Xyr 2016 short film was accepted to 23 festivals and won 6 awards, with screenings at Anthology Film Archives in New York and Artist Forum. You can find more of xyr work at tenacityplys.com!