Listening to you talk reminds me of landline telephones
Your thought process is a lot like signals bouncing from pole to pole
Stories and conversations
Groundbreaking 2 AM ideas and catchy songs
Watching it race down metal wires until it erupts from your lips
It is astonishing, the beautifully orchestrated chaos
Do not filter yourself for the comfort of others
Remember that you were not created for small talk
Please, sit here next to me
Invite me into your world as I pick up the phone

Do not be afraid, my darling
For when our clock runs out
And you exhale your last breath
Close your eyes
And when they open again come find me
Just like you did in this lifetime
And the one before it

Surely it isn't the structure that makes it a home
Because the roof remains intact
And the walls are freshly painted
But now it feels lifeless when I take a step inside
Ever since you hung your hat on the lemon tree
And didn't come back

I miss you the most when you are doing your bedtime routine
I lay in our bed and impatiently wait for the hour we have before your sentences become more and more incoherent
This time in our little bubble is where I feel the safest
My stars align when you are warming my feet and telling me about our future
So please, hurry and brush your teeth

Philosophers of ancient Greece presented to the world the three genders
Man, woman, and those of us who confidently exist in between
Where binary pronouns hold no meaning
For when we were created
Inside a warehouse in the cosmos
We were born with default settings
I was not programmed with a gender but that does not mean I am incomplete
I was created to exist as I am
As I was at the beginning
Afetiría
(Greek for starting point)

You gave me milk and dino shaped vitamins
I measured myself each morning to see if I was really growing like you said I would
But mama what happened?
I didn’t get that tall but instead, I wake up with an ache in my chest
I wasn’t ready for the growing pains
Outgrowing people and favorite jeans
The little girl in the photo albums would never recognize the face in the mirror
Change is good, but mama let me go back
To when I felt tiny in a twin size bed
And didn’t question my identity when I took a bubble bath

You put on your nicest dress
And I my cleanest suit
I pick you up at 8
The anticipation of the night makes you giggly and me blush
We pick up pizza and sparkling cider
And gaze at each other in this dimly lit room
We share our favorite memories from this year and manifest our goals for the next
We don’t need the parties and big crowds at bars
Because it’s not about them
This year is ours.