girls are not kitchen knives

Graphic by Maya Swift

Graphic by Maya Swift

This is a poem about navigating friendships in pre-dominantly straight communities. It's always tricky considering the stigma that surrounds lesbians. The poet has prided herself on being a good lesbian, but despite many of us putting others comfort over ours in fear of not being accepted, allyship is still not a guarantee. 

high school is filled with sugary gargoyles

straight girls and self-appointed allies

people who love me as long as i’m a good lesbian

people who love me as long as i don’t point out 

that it’s a privilege to hold hands in public

         i stare at parallel train tracks

was i always not straight 

or did the universe make me bent

loving girls has never been a weekend job or a pastime

i was never inaugurated to become a lesbian either

but they always ask,

       how old were you when you found out?

as if the act of loving is comparable

to the diagnosis of a disease

maybe the world would function better with manuals

then everyone would know that girls aren't kitchen knives, 

and neither are lesbians

then i wouldn't have to reintroduce myself 

to a world that shifts continuously 

then maybe my straight friends 

wouldn't make jokes like, "are you lesbian or are you normal?"

then i wouldn't have to explain that some jokes aren't yours to make

but this world has been conditioned 

to equate "normal" with "good"

and lesbians with predators

and girls with kitchen knives 


Written by Latifa Sekarini (she/her)

IG: @tofuisi

Edited by Keyatta Brooks (she/her)

Graphic by Maya Swift (she/her)

IG: @mayaisabelaswift