Sam Preminger
Pledge of Allegiance
“My only border is my body” —Danez Smith

My president has a penis
in her pants and a switchblade
in her pocket. She carries herself
like the kindliest cat, ready
to claw your eyes out,
knowing exactly the backroads,
the vein-ways of healing
and harm. She’s helping herself
with whichever feels right,

and she always knows which knife is right,

knows slow is smooth and smooth
is fast. She’s taking her time,
but she doesn’t need much. My president
sings loud, ella hablas español,
spots the riot from her car, rolls up
babe-lipped, rocking it. My president
doesn’t have an agenda. She’s got a to-do list
and she’s getting it done. Don’t fuck with her.
She’s looking good today. Your micro
-aggressions ricochet off her shine
like machine guns shooting Godzilla.

My president’s got more codenames
than comrades. Right now, she’s plotting
a nationwide clothing swap, clandestine
skill shares. She’s scheming
the stop and drop of fascist
cops. My president’s made herself
unarrestable. Her wrists are quicksilver.
Her nail polish is on point.

Underpaid and unimpressed, my president works
morning, night, and swing, still discos
under siren lights. My president
is on Grindr. My president knows the taste
of cat food from a tin, can fasten a sling
as sure as a slingshot. My president’s been hustling,
never seems to get tired.

So what if my president’s tired?

That’s none of your damn business. She
is in this for survival. My president is pressed
to the hood of a squad car. They never find shit, but believe me,
she’s got shit in her dungeons that could make your kink blush,
make you bleed, then bandage you whole again.

My president’s got more groove and pop
than a soda shop. Got more guts
than gravel could ever soak up. She’s got edge
in her head and her head’s an armed guard, keeping safe
the free store,
the freak march,
the community garden.
My president has been here long enough to know, but
she never knows better. She holds out her hand.
My president wants you
in her war. But this president (for once)
will actually be covering your back. She assembles
illegally, won’t obey traffic laws, doesn’t disperse.
She’ll throw down. She gets off on this.
My president—a violent anarchist in adorable boots.

And Switch is my president,
and Scavenger is my president,
and Ryan over-stressed on a hoverboard
is my president,
and Taytay and big Gav (who’s not a cop),
and little Gav, Ghost and Bear, and our Sky ever-blue,
and the Skinheads and Crimekids and Eva are all my presidents,
and I am my president too, my commander-in-chief.
I pledge I will heal. Here I stand
—Stars and Stripes—just for you.