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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xoxothepoet/Shirley Temple – 8/24/18A is for animal crackers in my Alphabet Soup.It also stands for:All the letters cannot be used.B is for...Okay look...B is for bad planningBecause there are 26 letters in the alphabetAnd right now I’m only 25.C is for countingBecause what happens when 27 creeps up on my shoulders?It’s not 30, I can’t be 29 forever.C is also for sheep.The ones I never countedWhen I walked back from one thousand to get to sleep.D is for daddio.Papa doe.Daring. Dashing. And Dapper.Wearing suits straight out of magazinesMaking every other kid jealous that their dad wasn’t that cool...Or annoying.D is also for dynasty.Or rather legacy.Or more like ancestry.And may I never forget where I came from.E is for exhausted.I’m five letters inAnd if you’d like to see the exitFollow the emergency lights at your feet.F is for Finn.Like a dolphin.Shark’s fin.Aodfin.For being mine twiceAnd for so long afterI am always hereSending you stuffiesDon’t forget to writeOr callPut me on your speed dialG is for GraceAmazing GraceViola GraceGrace with a CMy Gracie Lew WhoMy gloriously gorgeous girlfriendsWho have shaped me more than they knewH is for...HannahAnd hell in a hand basketFor he who will never be mentionedAnd Harry PotterFor my lack of fists fightsMy plethora of harsh wordsBut my comfortable hugs afterI is for IFor meFor hello I’m queer and I’m hereAnd you’re not stopping me todayOh noNot todayI’m on my wayI’m Dr. Seuss at this rateGive me a book deal I’m rollingJ is for JadeLike the gemstoneMy middle nameMy bisyllabic middle beginningThe only thing ET could pronounce right at Disney WorldMy sparkling shining JWith its loops and curves and...K is for Kimberly and KentMy parentsMy...Tough loveWork hardGet your shit done parentsWho split at age 10And finalized it after 11More yearsThey did what they planned reallyAnd I don’t blame themL is for love.An unconditional lather of lavender soap bubbles from laughterFor Brooke with an E from SeattleBlowing bubbles wands in traffic jamsAnd men picking fightsWith a woman they wouldn’t have a chance with...I mean against.M is for...Did you know in 2015 they said I could marry?The queers cried happy tears that day.N is for the n wordThe negroThe night skyCarrying us homeFollow the drinking gourd they sayFollow the drinking gourd.O is for optimismMy forever the extroverted optimist outlookSomehow hiding around the corners of my mindOstracizing itself from my overall outrageous outgoing state of beP is forPersonally I will not get offended if you walk out those doorsBut you’ve made it this farI promise there’s only a little moreQ is for quiltsThe ones etched in my memoriesThe ones I clutched so dearlyCrafted by my great grandmothers fingersHer love sewn into each and every stitchR is for rainbowBy Jessie JFor RadioactiveRelient KOneRepublicLana del RayS is for Sister10 years10 months1 day14 hoursAnd 14 minutesMy sisterOlderWiserBut I’m funnierS is for the brother I gainedAnd the children I will always adoreS is also for my SDGThe one my heart first yearned forLate night talksAnd agreeing to disagree90 percent of the timeT is for tyrannyFor big headsAnd little armsAm I talking about people?Or dinosaurs?That’s up to UFor U.For remember when chat speak was popularAnd we didn’t use our ultimately untimely interruptions ofYou’re and your.Their there they’re, my friends.It was once characteristicWut up?U there?I’ll brb my posJk I’ll ttylThere’s the dial toneRing ring ringGuess who’s on the phone?I hope y’all are old enough to rememberEuphorically engaging in chat logs with friendsBack when Dial Up was the only thing in your @ mentionsV.Like violetsGeraniumsAnd the chrysanthemum I had tattooed on my back.For vivacious and vividFor verily merely dancing down sidewalks and side streetsW.11:11For when I whimsically wish for my wicked wretched weakness in my limbs to go away.For everything to be okay.But before you begin whining while your eyes are wiltingX.Marks the spot.Goonies never say die.Treasure PlanetAnd Atlantis.Y.As in, I’ve lied. 25 is too damn close to 26 and I enjoy yearning for the end.Z is for thank you.For the zany adventure.The black and white zebras.The white and black zebras.And everything read all over.Now you know my ABCs. The ones that make up me. Let’s go again, shall we?Geronimo and Allons-y.