person Dare Williams, five poems

A 2019 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, Dare Williams is a Queer HIV-positive poet, artist, activist native to Southern California. Dare’s poetry has been featured in Cultural Weekly and elsewhere and is forthcoming in THRUSH and Bending Genres. An alum of John Ashbery Home School Claremont, he is currently working on his first poetry collection.

Twitter: Dare_Williams13
Insta: Rebelwithapen
Facebook: Dare Williams

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When Momma Was a Moth

she would light the home search for small slivers

could split silk warm with a glare electric a body

against the oven would collect dirt find the cracks would

shrink and dim herself for lovers only clean the house

in a way she would arrange for those heading over

to look wealthy and neat would heat the place

with a quickened breath would stay waiting

a loud footstep enters each room turning

the bulbs off one pull chain at a time a…