Still Here, Still Queer (5/30)
The first time I lost my job to my sexuality
i told my friend I finally feel like a real queer person now.
I said I no longer feel like the fake fruit in the basket,
i know that I am real
My 6th grade science teacher once spent an entire class period telling us
the value of skepticism and it was possibly the most important thing i have learned
When I was handed a paper to sign, stating that non-heterosexual practices are
wrong because the Bible says so, my boss whispered across the table
“these things should go unspoken but with all these new laws,
ya know, we gotta be clear”
as if when a writer writes a poem, they do not leave room for editing
as if when you submit your answer you cannot go back and change it
as if a student is not allowed to raise my hand and
ask where you got your information
Dear past employer,
I am sorry I am too sinful for your walls.
I am sorry I am an abomination to your sacred thrift shop register.
I will not apologize for having not repented of my queer.
My queer is not a white flag for your weekly bulletin
it is not a success for your conversion story
My queer was the torn sweater you deemed unlovable
My queer is the outfit I bought here before you could tell me no
It’s the sweater that finally felt like me, and now suddenly feels like fraud
My queer is my letter of resignation before you could fire me.
But my trans is just as wonderfully made as your cis.
This body has and always will be fearfully made,
don’t you know that once I was just as scared of this as you?
And look at me now, with my unclipped wings,
This body was indeed knit inside my mother’s womb and made to grow
‘til it someday finds its home and ain’t I home now?
Ain’t this body the temple I’ve been searching for
Ain’t this temple the home I came back to?
Wasn’t your God the first to say that love is the greatest force on the planet?
If love conquers all sin…
Then why am I still alive?
