zoe_michelle

Protected: What I Would Say To My Mother (if she were talking to me)

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

The real thought that I can’t stop processing

If you knew me both ways, and you come to the me that exists now, telling me that you preferred the version that wanted to die, how on Earth can I take you seriously in saying that you like either one of us?

Listening to Tori Amos as an egg

I picked up this 33 1/3 that is being meta talked about in this Guardian article. Read the first few pages while waiting to get my blood drawn at the clinic. I really have trouble articulating all the feelings this album has given me over the years. It felt like a sledgehammer to the faceContinue reading “Listening to Tori Amos as an egg”

Processing

Hi. I’m feeling raw today, and the best thing that someone can do when raw is to sit down and actually go and write. Why write, you ask, well, 2024 has already been a big year in the story of Zoë Dahling. You see, as of December 31st, 2023, she is completely, fully and completely out. To family,Continue reading “Processing”

Untitled, Written for TDOR 2023

I wish that people knewThat when you choose to slough off the egg And become the you that will be That yes, the shape of the body changes But what changes so much more Is the shape of the heart I wish that people knew That when your heart finally wakes up And you finallyContinue reading “Untitled, Written for TDOR 2023”

Untitled

There’s a certain type of compliment That you get When you’re a woman like me And you manage to go out in public And cross the street gracefully in heels Or choose the right lipstick Or braid your hair cleanly And that type of compliment Comes with a certain stare And with a fawning over-praiseContinue reading “Untitled”

No Longer In Texas

So, I’ve been silent for a while, but it’s been with a fruitful cause: I’ve been moving. I have vacated my old home in Austin, TX and I’ve relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Two weeks in, and I have to say that things are really going pretty well, and I think it’s about time toContinue reading “No Longer In Texas”

Covid, it never ends.

Seriously, someone in our house has had the thing for nearly this whole month. And we keep on testing positive staggered with each other. I’m so exhausted by it.

The Trans Rubicon

Hi, it’s been a long time, blog. I do believe this is a better home for my stuff than most venues, and as I start doing real writing more, I expect this place to be more active again. The below was written for an Austin spoken word sexuality confessional performance event. It appears I willContinue reading “The Trans Rubicon”

Death Penalty

I remember the exact moment I became opposed to the death penalty. It was June 12, 2001, the day after Timothy McVeigh’s execution. They innovated a sort of “closed-captioning execution viewing” thing because of the sheer number of victims and the difficulty of getting them all in the execution chamber. And I rememmber sitting andContinue reading “Death Penalty”