She laughed when I first told her
Only nine years old, my little sister
"Sometimes I feel more like men"
"Well, that makes me a frog, then!"
"But really, I'm not only a girl"
That's when she almost began to hurl
Her face scrunched up, she was crying
No longer thinking I was lying
"Don't worry, it sometimes lasts only a day"
She sniffed, "Will this go away?"
"It's always been here, nothing new"
"Tell mommy and daddy, they can help you"
I tried to explain how I felt
Took her face in my hands and knelt
"Sweetie, remember our secret game?
It's still me, I'll always be the same"
She nodded, finally eased
I told her my pronouns and was quite pleased
When daddy asked "What's my big girl up to"
She replied "He's really busy, lots to do"

thank you to the kind women that told me i was going to burn in hell.

thank you to my boss that told me why she was curious that i was going to consistently sin everyday for some fun

thank you to the mother that shielded her child's eyes while i walked by holding my boyfriend's hands.

thank you to the man that yelled ****** across the street while i walked my grandmother to her husband's funeral.

thank you to the kids that threw rocks at my house while i came up with a way tell my mom that it was me that accidentally broke the window.

however

thank you God for accepting me for the person i am.

thank you mom and dad for allowing me to be in love with the person i want to be in love with

thank you grandma for letting me know that even her religion is personally persecuting her for her acceptance, she doesnt care.

thank you to my siblings that understand that there isnt anything different with me, and that letting their friends know too

thank you me for being **me

I was only missing you
But you turn back on me
I wish we could rewind
and turn back time
To correct the past,
Now everything's going wrong
The hope inside me has faded away,
I guess this is farewell
As we go down our own paths,
I will keep you in my heart forevermore
Goodbye.

[in-tuh-muh-see]*  (noun)*

1. you'll let him undress you even though morning light is pouring through his two story apartment window and he's never seen you naked without the dark to hide your flaws; you won't have to hold your breath the entire time.

2. he isn't afraid to pray with you, you aren't afraid to tell him when you're not ok. You both wake up in each other's arms believing that nothing would ever be as simple as this.

I am a poet because of you.
It's the way your being
delivered a tidal wave of
poetic awakening to my
once dull veins.

Your lips watered
the flowers in my tongue
that were once called prose
but now they developed into poems.

Your fingers latched
perfectly into mine and
your nerves reacted to my nerves so right
and in that moment I knew our hands  were designed for each other.

And although
your tongue left my tongue
and your hand left my hand,
the diabolical mixture of your blissful and painful memories
kept the flowers in my tongue alive.

Soon enough, the flowers
crawled through my arms and hands,
begging me to write
the poetry that they bring.

You will never read this
but I forever thank you,
for I will always be a poet
because of you.