by Fargo Tbakhi
tel aviv nightclub
nipples soft and threatening
built on my queer bones.
ancestry.com
will trace my chest, spiteful, and
wish away my mouth.
a cock that’s made of
intifada. rising up
to greet me. pretty
thing, you’re not erased;
not anywhere you don’t be-
long. habibi, stay,
i’ll never leave you.
not you, phalasteen, although
they call you lustless.
most have a home to
live in. palestinians
have a home that lives
in us. you live in
me. no matter that they call
us antithesis.
this skin ripples, still.
these bones build anew. arise
into nightclub. still.
wash me all they want
i will not come clean for them.
the dirt is lover.
i walk glorious
into holier desert.
i soak up the sun,
i find ways to breathe.
your air is not poisonous
to the queer in me.
i’m the queer in you.
you are still the god in me.
you are still the bones.
palestine drag show,
clothe me in a tatreez dress.
call me alive, still.
call me alive, still
call me alive, still call me
alive, still, call me
fargo tbakhi is a palestinian american performer and writer in phoenix, arizona. his work has been published in spy kids review, maudlin house, and ghost city review. he is a middle and high school speech coach, the producer and host of the encyclopedia show az, and tweets @youknowfargo.