Lauren Smith
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Within and Without
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After DSM-5
one’s gender
manifested
in experience
or in a second
desire
o desire
that other
alternative
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Transmasc Manifesto
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after Marilyn Chin
Rough man tough man
Neither nor
Build the structure
Plant your dreams outside it
Continue continue
As light through a leaf
Hope hope
Unbridled barreling
Your little stubble
Your little other
Three specks of brown
In a concrete path
Grow out of anywhere
The inhospitable
Green with yellow
Bud not what you’re fed
Slow before impact
No impact no end
For our boys
Unyielding horizon
Pillowing pillow
Don’t shake sharpened hands
Reaching never reach
Cradle continue
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Lauren Smith is a writer and poet based in Oakland, California. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, they moved to California at a young age and have lived most of their life in the Bay Area. They’re currently pursuing their MFA at University of San Francisco where they’re also an Assistant Poetry Editor for Invisible City. They enjoy writing about queerness, transness, and other forms of questioning and creation. Their poems can be found in Lavender Review, Genau Press, and elsewhere.