Sajah Francesca is a twenty-one years old transmasc, nonbinary person with hyperfemme tendencies living in Long Beach, California. Sajah identifies as a pansexual and lives their life boldly, learning how to flaunt their queerness through fashion and art. He specializes in poetry, but indulges in short stories and plays from time to time. When they aren’t writing, they spend their days indulging in cult cinema or drinking obscene amounts of coffee. They have an Associates Degree in English Literature and are in their senior year at Cal State University Long Beach pursuing their Bachelor’s.

recalling mother

sajah francesca

My love for ballroom women
surpasses the love a child
has for their own mother, for
without these women,
I could have never been conceived.

My Mother found me years
after I was born, stuck
in a liminal tavern of mental
static and physical torment. She
showed me how beautiful
life could be if I
shoved it in a stiletto and
strutted down busy streets.
The feeling of a blistered ankle
still burns, rubbed raw

from all the grating, but
nothing beats the feeling of
seeing your own poised legs
in the mirror of a public bathroom,
decorated by a pair of pumps.

My Mother sat me before her
and beat into me the knowledge
that my existence happens under
a blazing bright spotlight.
She pounded her palms into my
clavicle and screamed that
I have to fight to be the man that
others are scared to be, because of
other men. She stabbed, slashed me
then told me to stand up

and walk: The world is
waiting for the imprint of your
sole; you must step forward
unafraid, Heel. Toe.
Heel. Toe.