Editor’s comment: This brave post is our first venture into poetry. It was submitted to me back in January and I thought it was a good follow-up to our last post. I will caution readers, there is one word that may not be appropriate to a church publication (at least to these aging eyes) but since I and we know the author well, I was reluctant to edit his art.
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Dear freaks and geeks, weirdos, zeroes, outcasts, and outsiders.
Dear queer kids, dear disabled kids, dear kids with the “wrong” skin color, the “wrong” address, the “wrong” hair color, the “wrong” brain chemistry.
Dear neurospicies, autistics, dyslexics;
dear people who ask that their personhood be named first
or last.
Dear disabled bodies and able bodies. Dear socialists, anarchists, cottagecore witchy kids, larpers, furries, and painters of those little silver table top role playing figurines.
Dear asexual accountant; dear polyamorous first aid instructor, dear polycules composed entirely of Star Trek fans.
I know you’re not all the same,
And forgive me if it’s not cool to lump you all together.
It’s 1 AM and I couldn’t sleep, and it seemed like a good thing to do,
To turn my mind to the things that bring me hope.
That’s you.
You bring me hope.
And I know you’re not all the same
Any more than the bands of African warriors were the same.
Than the sometimes warring against each other Scottish highlanders were the same.
That a group of siblings are all the same.
And yet-
You
All of you
You have been saying the quiet parts out loud.
And the loud parts quietly.
I love that and I love you.
I’m sorry if that’s pandering,
Or paternalistic.
You
All of you
You’ve set me free.
Thank you for your patience with me.
I’m still figuring it all out.
I don’t learn things all that fast.
But I have come a long way:
I’m thinking about how
A bunch of decades ago
I wouldn’t even tell most people
That I read comic books
Or played dungeons and dragons
In high school,
I had no idea how fucked up it was
When they told my friend Shirley
She couldn’t bring a girl to the prom.
The first time I flirted with my actual queerness.
I had just turned 50.
The first time I said out loud
That I flirt with my queerness
Was in a room full of strangers and friends
I was 53.
That courage,
It came from you.
So yes, thank you.
And yes, I love you.
I know it’s weird,
And yes, awkward.
But then again,
So am I.
And so are you.
And us?
We’re going to be o.k.
I mean,
It’s not always going to be ok.
But us? We’re going to be ok.
