I used to be afraid of rubber bands,
Their amorphous shape,
Their elasticity threatening to entangle me,
Trapped.
One summer they followed me everywhere,
Appearing on gravely sidewalks,
Strewn across concrete steps,
Tangled throughout lilac bushes,
They scared me,
The same way I was afraid of love,
Trapped by death and heartbreak.
I knew a sign when I saw it,
So started gathering them,
Repeating my spell every time I bent down,
“I am not afraid of love.”
Until I’d collected a glass jar of fear,
Packed tightly with rubber bands.
Like this:
Like Loading...
About Avery Cassell
Avery Cassell is a genderqueer San Francisco writer, poet, cartoonist, and artist who grew up in Iran. They live with their Maine Coon cat, Lulu, and bake yeasted waffles every Sunday morning.
Behrouz Gets Lucky is their first novel. You can find their erotic short stories sprinkled in various anthologies, including Best Lesbian Erotica 2015 and Sex Still Spoken Here. Avery is currently working on a book of more of Behrouz and Lucky's shenanigans, a memoir, and an illustrated early reader children's book about a eight year old transgender boy and his family.
