genesis 2018 final digital.pdf


Molly Made Me Deconstruct My Masculinity
Tanner Léon 

I

On top of  it sit lines of  magic;

It only burned a little bit
in the exciting kind of  way. 

replaced by an enveloped sense of  euphoria. 
I saw the beauty in the men around me.
It was only a little gay;
moreover, it was human.

It felt only natural to embrace strangers 
while we talked.

it was a party.

I forgot what it meant to be uncomfortable,
to be afraid.

II
Our love is being repressed 
and we’re content
with the lack

Men, can we hug?
Men, can we touch?
We’re so afraid of  our own sexuality
that bumping your friend’s leg in public

Best of Poetry



Molly Made Me Deconstruct My Masculinity
feels like an awkward TV interview:
and we’re so afraid of  interviews:

               every question is a challenge
that demands 

just to layer another bandage
                                                  that hides
insecurities.

always felt like 
a drunken stepfather
watching, waiting
for when I slipped up
so he could start wailing. 
It never felt like part of  my equation.

Realistically,
masculinity was more the unknown variable
I was solving for
at the top of  the fraction. 

stuck at the bottom,
separated by a bar built by
—————————— 
faggot pussy and bitch
with promises that solving for the common denominator
would earn me my manhood.

I still don’t know what manhood is, 

it takes a hell of  a lot more strength 
to cry, than it does to lift weights. 

It takes more bravery to love,
than to destroy.

There’s more power in holding hands



Tanner Léon
than there is in pulling yourself  up. 

III
This is for all the boys who will go home
and cry tonight because
they were told boys don’t cry
and did it anyways.

This is for the years she’ll spend
trying to uncover
what’s been buried deep inside,
because bottling things up
is for body builders.

This is for the man afraid to admit 
that he wants to be held 
like he was when he was a baby.

Our weakness makes us human.

IV

well,
I ended up kissing two friends of  mine.
They were guys...
and we’re still friends.

I’ve never felt more comfortable.