Practice in Pronouns (pride)
one day my wife will be a woman
right now she is a specter
/ except in the space between lips
/ / in the moment it takes my teacher to say
/ / it could also be a boy and a boy or
/ / a girl and a girl
in the space between me and
whoever i become
right now she is a when you get married and have
kids you’ll understand
often she is a he
/ often even i forget
when i worry about convincing my parents to choose
my chosen one — he’s in business school, his parents want to meet you;
perhaps sports on Sunday nights, perhaps supper
and bibs and baby bumps — i remember
it won’t happen that way: i am not my brother,
a girl is always a shock
then a change of conversation.
what does it matter what her moon sign will be
when they realize I was serious
/ my wife is a she
— — —
i hope you know
every reckless indecision
/ every ground-shaking sob muffled by your pillow
/ / every you you do not recognize
/ leads you back to me.
i hope you wreck everything
in the years before me;
i hope that some things are lost forever
to dramatic hair cuts and catastrophic coming outs
so that when we meet you might
see it for yourself:
that you deserve it all,
all that you want —
one day my woman will be a wife,
so her last name will fall
into another’s hands,
fall into place between
twin wedding bands
[Here finishes this practice in pronouns.]
/ At last, we.
June is LGBTQ Pride Month. This year, I observed my first Pride as a lesbian woman.
In the United States, transgender youth are under the attack of various legislative bodies that should be protecting their most vulnerable constituents. There is an epidemic of deadly violence against transgender woman, especially those of color.
Get or give help with The Trevor Project.
To learn more about the state of Queer America, please visit GLAAD and GLSEN.
The first Pride was a riot.
