The Dorm Room Sign I Stole When I Was 18 Shows Up in Every Bathroom Selfie

Poetry by ​​SG Huerta

I look in the mirror and I’m not sure
what I see – not Man or Woman: I’m a
Mexican boy, a short dyke, all but what
was prescribed at birth, baptism, beyond.
My last bathroom was huge, walk-in closet
and all. Now, I barely have space, but it’s
mine. Too-strong cologne, vegan toothpaste,
420 sign, all crowding the counter,
all culminating in that which I can’t
express unless cloaked in sly metaphor
for dresses that never fit and makeup
that hid too much of my turmoil, inner
and otherwise. Let me sit on my pink
bath mat. It is too small to contain me.
​

SG Huerta

SG Huerta is a Chicano poet from Dallas. They are pursuing their MFA at Texas State University where they serve as the nonfiction editor for Porter House Review. SG is the author of the chapbook The Things We Bring with Us: Travel Poems (Headmistress Press, 2021). Their work has appeared in Kissing Dynamite, Infrarrealista Review, Variant Lit, and various other places. They currently live in Texas with their partner and two cats. Find them at sghuertawriting.com or on Twitter @sg_poetry.