Haircut
Mathew Lily Vogel
I cut my hair the other day,
watched in the mirror as it
fell to the ground
beneath my feet.
It had been long,
down to my waist –
girls are supposed
to wear their hair long.
Suffocating, tangled
and hot. When I cut it
they wept, lamenting the loss
of something so beautiful.
I was standing in the bathroom
that night, fingering the short strands
when she came up behind me
smiling, took me by the waist
and told me I was handsome.
Mathew Lily Vogel is a nonbinary half Vietnamese artist and poet attending Virginia Commonwealth University for Communication Arts and Creative Writing. Growing up with a shaky and at times complex family situation, they’ve turned to art as a means of working through their own emotions and feelings regarding themselves, their family, and the world around them. Now, they mostly focus on the visual arts but write poetry and short stories on the side both for pleasure and in hopes of one day being published. Most of their work revolves around their personal life, including their experiences with gender dysphoria, LGBT+ relationships, mental illness, and familial struggles. This is their debut poetry publication.