Dare Williams


What They Called Us


this one sits
in the shade this

one hangs
in the sun this

one gets picked but
who does the plucking who

pickles on the vine what
sets in the east how

squishy
why special this

one is in leathers that
one in denim this

one waits forever that
one withers away suddenly

(the dish is empty
the house is quiet) what

matters is who
dies happiest

filled with
the most light who

left hungry what
is full


A 2019 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow, Dare Williams is a Queer HIV-positive poet, artist, rooted in Southern California. He has received fellowships from John Ashbury Home School and The Frost Place. He is a co-producer of the reading series Word of Mouth which raises money for communities facing food and nutrition inequities. Dare’s poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a two-time finalist for Blood Orange Review’s contest. His work has been anthologized in Redshift 5 by Arroyo Secco press and is featured in Cultural WeeklyBending GenresTHRUSHExposition Review, and is forthcoming in Limp Wrist and elsewhere. 

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Spring 2021