Kayleb Rae Candrilli

trans and summering in wildwood, nj

in a few days, i’ll be on a beach
so bright i can see the sun through my fingers,

each thin vein lit
up blue like a heron’s leg.

this poem is not so much about a beach
as it is about arriving there,

blowing stop signs
until the coast affirms

that lines are always changing,
and the tide

tells me my body can morph,
just as many times as it needs.

Kayleb Rae Candrilli is the author of What Runs Over with YesYes Books, which was a 2017 finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in transgender poetry. Candrilli is published or forthcoming in TriQuarterly Review, cream city review, Bettering American Poetry, and many others. They live in Philadelphia with their partner.