Spectral lines all ranked up On the cosmic bathroom countertop Bloodshot eyes in a cracked mirror In the silence of a throbbing city club and the void When I couldn’t see the stars I stopped dreaming of space Always keep the beaten path Always keep a straight face This year’s galvanised me But zinc’s a drab-as limbo as any Trading one grey for another The music of the spheres spun In colours I had never dreamed of I would be lustrous, I’d be rusting in lust I would be wretched. I would be loved Leaving home Muscles knot my aching shoulder bones Wash out my veins with the acetone I wasn’t born in fear There’s no self-loathing in my genes But from when I could hear I heard the hereditary; the poison of misogyny An amateur wavering, thrust traversing The tripwire of masculinity Dance, hummingbird! Can you dance? I had learned the steps before I could walk I had learned silence before I could talk Where are you, Orion? Into what abyss goes your hunt? To black depths I condemn ye And raise up to the heavens new stars Stare into that void all you like It won’t meet your gaze When you can’t see the stars You stop dreaming of space