Solidarity / Being Out

Mania. Mania.

Up down

All around

Depression

Crash and

Burn it all down

Again.

And again.

Rinse and repeat.

What year is it?

————

My almost 18 year old

daughter came out several

weeks back and all she asked of me was

to please spread the word to the family and

not to buy her a bunch of “rainbow

shit.”

When she’d finished her breathless speech,

I paused, took a sip from my coffee and said,

“Ok. Do we high five now?”

I told her I’d commission

a local

artist to paint our garage into

the gayest flag you’ve ever seen and we gon’

represent!

She laughs.

“I love you, mom. I also hate you. Thanks for being cool.”

It was a beautiful, light-hearted moment that I got to share with her, and she feels strong now

and like she can tell anyone.

We worked together, and she even let her homophobic bigot of a father know.

No word from him since…

I only hope I can support her well.

I’ve asked the universe to give her an

easy road, and for God’s sake don’t let

Them start taking her rights

away.

It’s mother fucking personal now.

________

I’ve had journals for most of my life

And I’ve never brought politics

Into them before.

I’ve also never cared this much and

I am nervous as fuck for

this election.

Like loss of sleep, heightened anxiety,

not functioning at optimal

capacity

nervous.

I doom-scrolled Twitter this morning for

some solidarity.

I’ll take what I can get.

*-V.