call me Radical

a poem by Alannah Guevara

Edited by Eliana Horning

I write, enraged

because I am being erased

because no raised fist can tear apart the paper

or the ink used to sign away my freedom.

My body on the page

poked and prodded by politician’s pen

my body, the very same that I dared love

the body that is barely mine

and the more that I work to claim it

the more they work to take it from me.

With each dotted line they sign

every body like mine

spills blood and fury

from lesions their ballpointed knives carve

until we are unrecognizable.

So call me Radical

for defying legislation

for loving myself

for daring to speak

I am angry.

Alannah Guevara is a queer and trans poet, wife, and new mother. She is an English major at Cal Poly Humboldt where she designs books and will be serving as managing editor of Toyon in

its 69th iteration. Her works have been published in the J. J. Outré Review and on

the Toyon website. Her poem, “Fresh Fruit,” is a winner of Toyon’s 2022 Sana, Sana competition.