by Josephine Defaye
Strange Wives
(Editor’s Note: from the book of Ezra, Nehemiah, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; “trans” truncates the words “transgressed,” “transgresseth,” “transgression,” and “transformed”)
He that covereth a trans seeketh love;
He loveth trans. The words of the trans. Trans
on his lips. Trans by wine, enlargeth his
desire as hell. The wicked is snared by
the trans of lips. The lips of the king: his
mouth being deceived: He will not pardon
your trans / I covered my trans. My trans [is]
sealed up in a bag. Iniquity in
my bosom. The thing accursed. Thou huntest
my soul to take it. ‘She also lieth
in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth
the trans among men.’ Their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched. Trans [shall eat]
violence. Thou hast visited in the night;
thou hast tried me. ‘All this great evil, to
trans against our God in marrying strange
wives?’ Thou shalt seek me in the morning, but
I [shall] not [be.] The way of trans [is] hard:
Trans from the womb / I make myself a trans.
We have trans and have rebelled. Rejoice in
thy pride. Trans into an angel of light.
Author Josephine Defaye (she/her) is a trans female writer, educator, and founder of Trans/gressive Writers’ Workshop. She has been awarded residencies from Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) and Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. She lives in Los Angeles with her human family and their two dogs, Duncan and Lady Macbeth. Find her on social media & Medium @josiedefaye.
Artist Roger Camp is the author of three photography books including the award winning Butterflies in Flight, Thames & Hudson, 2002 and Heat, Charta, Milano, 2008. His work has appeared in numerous journals including The New England Review, Witness and the New York Quarterly. Represented by the Robin Rice Gallery, NYC, more of his work may be seen on Luminous-Lint.com.
Gulf Stream Magazine 