Webby Vanderquack. I want to be Gadget Hackwrench,
Smurfette, April O’Neil. I want to be the only girl
in the boys’ clubhouse because that will mean
I am not like other girls,
will mean that I have real merits,
boy merits, spunk, attitude,
but most importantly that I have a future

as a love interest, that maybe I am
already a love interest, that
maybe the bravest ThunderCat
wants something to do with me—

imagine: me, desirable, probably not a heroine
but still okay enough to kiss, me
helping save the day with my cleverness
that one time, me, wearing the sole frilly thing
these soldiers have ever seen—

me, serving 

my purpose

Kate Horowitz is a poet, essayist, and science writer in Washington, DC. Her work has appeared most recently in Butter, rose quartz, and OCEANS & TIME. She was Yes Poetry's Poet of the Month in July 2018 and has work forthcoming from Post Ghost Press. She tweets @delight_monger.