Gender is a
spectrum, not
a divide.

We treat mental
illness now as
the spectrum it
is – where once

we were divided.
We are still divided
on gender – despite
it not being easily
divisible, and never
easy so no longer
about being divisible…

This is what I
was thinking
on a nice stroll
through town. The
dog in tow, a new
book to add to the
collection at the end
of it. Browsed some
records, went to what’s
left of the library.

Listened to podcasts.
Kept my head down
mostly.

When I did lift my chin
I saw a guy wearing
a t-shirt that said: A GIRL
IS A GUN –

and he was wearing it, I
thought, rather self-consciously.
In that he stared at me.
And I judged him to be
an incel. Meaning I don’t think he
was wearing the shirt as a
feminist statement. It looked like
he was wearing it as a red flag
for his white-male rage.

But hey, it’s a spectrum.
And we shouldn’t be
dividing.

Right?