We can't make them uncomfortable
We can't make them feel weird
Because my boyfriend
Has *******.
Because my "boyfriend"
Is a woman.

We cannot make them uncomfortable
Those around us
While we subtly hold hands,
pulling away if anyone's gaze looks
a bit too intense
a bit too uncomfortable

You know what's *******
uncomfortable?
Just wanting a kiss on the cheek
but getting a slap on the wrist
by a bible belt stare
Because I
am in love.
With a woman.

Loving you was the best
choice.
It's a shame I'm not the
one for you,
but you're at one
with me.
The stars up above blind
us with smiles,
but your eyes are twisted,
with the hopes of yesterday.

to that kid in my freshman year class:
who said, "there should be no
labels, i am just me,
not an identity"

i'd just like to say
as someone who exudes
heteronormity,
that even though i am
as queer as can be,

i believe
the beauty in words
being able to put
a definition to a word
with such strength and
duality;

what is the purpose
in erasing it?
do not let them
delete the terms from
their dictionaries.

with knowledge
comes understanding
comes acceptance
comes peace
comes unity.

To My Lover,
my one and always;
the dance hall is empty without
our swing.
Come back to me, darling,
Let us waltz the halls again,
without a care in the world,
except for the fear of stepping on
our toes.

I've loved you since our first touch,
and since then, you have had
my heart in your cold hands,
let me warm them...
come and dance with me.
I want my arms around your waist.

Your hands on my neck.

All I speak is nonsense.
The words float around in the back of my brain
Waiting for their turn down the slide.
He tells me, your words don't flow
Quite like the petals from the rose that lays across your chest.
All the vocabulary I had to learn
To avoid the blisters on my back from the leather belt
That wrapped itself around my father's waist.
The dictionary I was beaten with if I did not learn its contents.
I can't look at your face because you remind me of him.
The gold buckle on the front of your waist
Matches the ideals in your mind.
I can't love a man who reminds me of the man
Who can't accept me for who I am.
I can't love a man because my father taught me
That love is a man yelling into your ear telling you to be perfect.
To change who you are to fit his image of a "trophy."
My mind is wired differently.
You may not realize beauty when it stares you in the face,
But I don't expect you to know it when it takes time to find it.
I can love you or that girl sitting on the bench across the park.
You can't tell me otherwise.

I was in the first grade
I was sitting down during storytime next to this kid named Michael
I was a normal kid
I chased boys on the playground and I was friends with mostly girls
Who knows what my teacher was reading
I wasn’t paying attention
I was staring at Michael
He was my first crush
I didn't know why I liked him but I did
Something came over me and as he’s intently listening to the story
I turn to him and kissed him
He looks back at me in disgust and thankfully no one saw me do it
I never talked to him again and he moved that next year

I'm in the fifth grade
I'm texting one of my best friends and the time
He just happens to be a guy
He texts me a picture of someone from a game
It's a cute character so I type “ aww he’s cute”
Autocorrect had a different plan for me and changed it to “ aww you're cute”
I started freaking out at what he would say
But he responded with “ your cute too”
We ended up dating and he was my first boyfriend
I loved him and he loved me
We went to the movies together and sat next each other every day on the bus
He bought me candy and a stuffed rabbit for Valentines day
His parents said that he wasn’t allowed to date till he was in high school
So our relationship ended quickly

In my house, we never really talked about dating or sexuality
But occasionally my grandparents talked about a “gay” couple they knew
I didn't know what that meant so one day I looked it up
To my surprise, it meant a guy who is attracted to another guy
And I was confused, I didn't know that this was ok
I didn’t know people felt this way and I started questioning myself
Did I like girls
Did I like guys
I didn’t know anymore and I questioned this for a while
Nobody knew about my build up question that only I could answer
And it started taking over my thoughts
Every girl that I saw I looked away cuz I didn't want to give off the wrong impression
Nobody talked about sexuality
I didn't know anyone who liked the same gender as their own

I was at church
And I was in the sixth grade
I'm sitting next to my friend
She just happens to be a girl
She’s stuttering on her words and is more awkward now
I ask her what’s wrong and she says that she likes me
I start to blush
Her head is in her knees and she's about to cry
I tell her that I like her too  
She lifts up her head to reveal her bright red cheeks
She grabs my face and kisses me
I tell her that I love her and she insists that she loves me more
I liked girls, but I was still confused
How could I like a girl and a guy
I told her about this and she gave me the title BISEXUAL
She gave me a label, I word to finally express how I felt
I still kept these feeling to myself
I didn’t tell anyone and nobody knew about my relationship with her

We broke up and I was depressed
But I was comfortable with myself, comfortable in my skin
I wasn't ashamed of being bisexual and I was shown that it's ok
That's it’s ok to have these feeling
And no I’m not figuring out my sexuality
That’s already figured out
I’m not confused, I’m not desperate
And no I don't like everyone I see so please don’t ask

I’m bisexual
I like girls and guys and everything in between
Gender doesn't matter to me cuz all that matters is personality
Society likes to brainwash people to think that girls like guys and guys like girls
But why
Why must we be confined to the idea that we can’t explore our sexuality
And we can't love who we want to
Let it be said that if God didn't want us this way
He wouldn’t have created us this way
And if God didn't want us to like our own gender
Why did he allow us to

I am in love with a girl that has the prettiest smile, who basks in the morning light with a pillow shoved on her head and a grumble of 'five more minutes'
I am in love with a boy that has the prettiest eyes. who loves watching the moon and stars and has eyes that are just as grey as the clouds above him.

I am in love with a girl that has bad days almost everyday, and texts me about her new level on a video game to try and distract me from her feelings
I am in love with a boy that has a bad past and rarely talks about it, and when he does it's little snippets sprinkled with funny stories to lighten the mood

I am in love with a girl that told me one day she was now a boy, and I assured him I would call him by the right pronouns and name and he cried.
I am in love with a boy that told me one day he is still a boy, and I assured him I already knew and told him his dress was still cute, and he grinned.

I am in love with a gender fluid boy that sometimes loves dresses and sometimes wants nothing but his chest to be flat and his voice to be deep.
I am in love with someone who's idea of perfection isn't what he sees in the mirror, instead it's when you love someone and all their faults, but I assure him that he is mine either way.

I'm going to die alone,
but that's okay.
I've been warned.

And if the stars have given me that
fate,

what God am I to disagree?