This piece took me a few weeks to write — the entirety of that time, even when I finalized this piece, was spent wrestling with my identity as I travelled from place to place. With influences from Romeo and Juliet, this was born out of my confusion, and then out of my discovering the answers to the questions below.

I

who am i? who am i really?

with this title, who resides within me?

with this title, who holds onto me?

what do i owe without this title?

II

will this body

by any other name

still taste as sweet?

"What's In A Name? (An Ode to Transness)" is an excerpt from Alexander's work-in-progress book. See more of them: https://www.instagram.com/theoryofx/, https://www.creativeprocess.info/other-voices-10