11/20/12

End of the month came and went, and I completely forgot to post an original poem.  I know - the shame, the shame!  Anyway, here you are.  Feels like a lifetime ago.

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11/20/12

 

I came out today.

It was in a quietly safe place,

An office erected

For the heady business

Of self-exploration.

As I spoke,

I listened to the tear-stained echoes

Of trepidatious students

Who somehow summoned the strength

To unfold themselves

For another person to see,

And I did what I could

To draw from their courage.

I addressed a carpet-skimming desk drawer,

Because I couldn’t

Look him in the eye.

Still, he protected me

With his gentle listening,

A calm breeze

To cool the ague of my babble.

Today, I stopped holding my breath

And instead held his hand

To steady me

As I inched across

The tightrope hanging inside myself.

You may look

At my aromantic asexuality

And see fear –

Fear of sex,

Fear of closeness,

Fear of rejection,

Fear of giving over –

But when I wrapped my voice around those words

And said them aloud

For someone to hear,

I don’t know that I’ve ever

Been so brave.