It occurs to me I’m uncomfortable / not because I do not accept another person’s right to identify as they wish // No, I am irritated that someone else’s right to identify as they wish means I must take a breath / consider my pronoun use / which should not be a big deal should it? / except it must be a big deal because I am irritated feeling the need to conform to someone else’s whims / someone who is not like me / someone who I imagine has a much harder life than I do getting through days / yet here I am / here I am complaining I am put in a position of having to think // Wait, it’s as simple as that / isn’t it? / I’m upset because I am being forced to unlearn

Mark Danowsky is a writer from Philadelphia. His poems have appeared in About Place, Gargoyle, The Healing Muse, Right Hand Pointing, Shot Glass Journal, Subprimal, Third Wednesday, and elsewhere. He is Managing Editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal.