“I Pulled Condoms and Lubricant From a Jello Cake” by Mercury-Marvin Sunderland

i pulled condoms and lubricant from
a jello cake
shoving the findings into my pajama pockets
while avoiding the watch of my family


i found children’s stickers in there too
and i pocketed them away


i flattened the cake into the marble it could be
it was blue and purple in all hues and shades
leaving it free of any mark that could be


i worked at my own kitchen
and my father came in
with two jello cakes for me


one was shaped like a fruit candy
he told me it was for my birthday
my birthday was one month ago


i jumped to the height of my saltshaker
perched on the stove vent


i am thumbelina
tiny and strong

Mercury-Marvin Sunderland is a Hellenist transgender autistic gay man from Seattle who uses he/him pronouns. He currently attends The Evergreen State College, and his dream is to become the most banned author in human history. He works for Headline Poetry & Press, and he’s been published in numerous magazines such as the University of California Riverside’s Santa Ana River Review. His art has been featured by the UglyDolls company and he represented Seattle at Brave New Voices 2017, the national tournament for youth slam poetry. He can be found as @Romangodmercury on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.