redefining “faggot”

1
/faget/
a male homosexual
a bundle of sticks or twigs
bound together
as fuel

2
when the mouth opens
it repeats the half-pursed
refrain, a sound like
toilet
where the syllable
crunches like tortilla chips
a pop at
both ends

3
before you say
it i want to say my name
two particles of cusp
lithium americium
like the advent
of a matchstick
when someone calls
me it
i imagine a kiss
with no cigarette
and a talon of smoke
reaching for me

4
communion of the tongue
to a bludgeon
i want to whittle
a definition
with a parcel of mountain
ash, frail limbs
curt in embrace
i want to define
this knicked name
on my brow
as a woodpecker might
search for bugs
as a name searches for
a body to claim