River woke up
with their name
on the whiteboard
a crucifix on the wall
their parents straight
from new mexico
we talk of poems
of estrogen, who
sent the flowers
when the nurse
asks me to shave
their beard, I do
when the nurse
slips a she in
my direction
I don’t correct him
River does, despite the
difficulty of speaking
I wish we woke up
in a different world
but we’re here
together
holding hands in
intensive care.
