what freedom
. there must
. be in taking
. wing away from
. what instinct
. says will
. starve you
s l o w l y
© 2019 R.B. Simon
First published in Issue V 2020 of Blue Literary Magazine.
![](https://rb-simon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Rene-13-cropped-scaled.jpg)
R.B. Simon (she/her) is a queer, black, fat, disabled poet and Managing Editor at Harbor Editions. R.B.’s work has found homes in pacificREVIEW, The Coop, Strange Horizons, Literary Mama, CALYX, Obsidian, Emerge Literary Journal, and West Trestle Review. Her work has been a finalist for numerous prizes (Julia Darling Memorial Prize, Crosswinds Poetry Prize, Joy Bale Boone Poetry Prize, and Unleash Book Award to name a few) and was the winner of the 2023 Zoyer Zyndel Poetry Prize. Her full-length collection, Not Just the Fire, was released March 2023 from Cornerstone Press. Her next collection, Bird Bone Blood is forthcoming in early 2025 (Milk & Cake Press). She is currently living in Madison, WI with her spouse and young daughter.