HEARTBEAT 

CUT FROM THE SOURCE 

I had to let go, 

All those things you said I was 

I unraveled, 

Became undone, 

My bones melted, 

My heart unrest- 

For it won’t stop beating, 

Beating, beating 

Because it knows no less 

I became unplugged, 

Undressed in your layers of 

Manipulation, 

Unleashed from your cage from 

All the ways you  Underestimated me.

never related to authors being like "childhood is such a blessed innocent time", catch me with that jane eyre shit like "such dread as children only can feel" and "I then sat with my doll on my knee til the fire got low, glancing round occasionally to make sure nothing worse than myself haunted the shadowy room"

Again, they come running to my call of distress

only to burrow in my skin and call me delicate

their stinger falling off upon entry

They want to peel off each layer to watch it grow back shiny and new.

They choke for me as I swallow their marbles but they won’t bleed for me

won’t breathe for me

and my humming bird heart won’t sway

nor listen to what you have to say

won’t cry as you break my bones

Sometimes it's useful to look at your dialogue and ask yourself, "would a real human being talk like that?" But it's also good to ask the follow-up questions of "would the way a real human being talks sound good here" and "does this character actually talk like a real human being or are they weird about it."

hold onto this for me

A cis woman tells me that maybe she should transition to gain male privilege as I'm recovering from getting beaten up in the men's bathrooms.

I tell her to be my guest and give me a call when she gets her jaw broken, I always carry a first aid kit and a pepper spray.

She calls me a misogynistic asshole.

A cis man tells me that he'd sure love some T.

Gave him my prescription and best of luck with the constant shortages and getting denied.

He calls me a pussy.

I'm fighting for my life and reproductive rights. I get told to get off women's fights, that it's not about me, like I shed my womb after my first T shot.

I search for support groups for SA victims, and I'm stuck in the same “women/NBs only”. Still shooting my shot, send an application. I introduce myself. Never get a call back.

I go to a trans night. Say I go by he/him. Get told back “yeah, that's how we all start !” by a trans woman. I'm too exhausted, I get up and I leave.

I hang out with my friends, one of them drunkenly says masculinity is a prison we must learn to escape. She gets rows of applause. Back to drinking alone.

Yes I could explain it. But who'd you rather be ? A delusional girl or a man made threat ?Or it could be better, I could just not exist ! And we'd bleach my corpse and I'd become a casualty. Not an F, ot an M, a W for Wound and for Wrong.

I put a candle on a single cupcake, 2 years on HRT. I blow it in the dark. Curtains closed like casket.

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡ ﾟ. September will bring blessings.

ﾟ･｡･ﾟ

Briefly Write

N Judah St.

by Lu Knight. Issue 10 (March 2023).

Hey friends, I’m Lu and I’m a creative writer. I use she/her and they/them pronouns and I am 21.

I’ve been writing stories and poems since I learned how to write and before that I would doodle tales of purple dogs. I always knew that I wanted to be a published author so I could share my stories with everyone, I’ve always dreamt of seeing my novel on a shelf among the greats! My strengths in writing are: world-building, flowery details, and character building. My weaknesses are: grammar, dialogue and a bit of plot building.

Thanks to Briefly Write publishing my first micro story, I am one step closer to reaching my dream!

A little bit more about me: I am a student at Appalachian State University studying creative writing, just existing in the mountains. I love to read, take naps, go hiking, thrifting, listening to murder podcasts. I’m also a big foodie but I don’t know how to cook, hopefully in the future I’ll get better at it. My favorite animals are koalas and bunnies. I have a dog named Maggie, I’ve had her since I was in 5th grade. I have a bunny named Jeffery, he’s a rascal.

My WIPS are: The Hidden Odyssey and Colors of Emotions. I also have some short stories in the works.

I hope that you like what I create and I hope we can be friends!

shoutout to everyone who wants to infodump but cant string together coherent thoughts to form sentences and instead just look at you like this

its mary shelley summer