Dennison Ty Schultz
TODAY I’M NOT THINKING ABOUT GENDER
—beginning with a line by Yanyi
Today I want to shake around some new keys.
Today I fistfight the sun with my exposed belly but it’s okay because we’re lovers & also we’re
lovers who box.
Today I rhinestone the window blinds—it’s pretty & alarms intruders.
Today I handfeed my houseplants a crisp seafood platter.
Today I ladle chicken noodle soup into a bassoon.
Today I patchwork couches with swatches of clear vinyl & corduroy.
Today two wrens lay eggs, wet as cucumber slices, on my eyelids.
Today I’m not in any danger.
Today I rig the wind with autotuners & together we frame stock photos.
Today: phantasmagoria.
Today I groom wire monkeys in pools of their milk.
Today my livewire mouth.
Today ( ).
Forgive me—all the bowls were dirty, I had only this bassoon.
Dennison Ty Schultz is a queer poet originally from Arkansas and currently living and teaching in Missouri. They hold an MFA from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Foglifter, New Delta Review, Sycamore Review, Black Warrior Review, Split Lip Magazine, and DIAGRAM, among others, and it has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets. Find them on social media @clubdenni.