Parade participants dance and gyrate.
Snaking down the glittery rainbow street.
While drag queen’s sashay perfectly straight
Atop outrageously high heels, an incredible feat.

My eyes dart wildly from side to side.
Taking in ample amounts of bare skin
Of people unconcerned with a need to hide.
Of strangers marching closer than kin.

I breathe in the thickly weed scented air.
Feel the heat from the scorching asphalt.
I toss back my head without a care.
Unafraid of danger or assault.

On this particular day
There’s no hate for loving my own gender.
Surrounded by all the gay,
Love reigns in abundant splendor.

Five million gather to say thank you
For fifty years of Stonewall’s disquiet.
To honor and attest that which we hold true.
And to remember the first pride was a riot.

When I think of the things in my life that
I am grateful for there is so much
But one of the things that comes to mind
Is a person

When I think of what a best friend she is what comes to mind

People hurt you
They disappoint you
Make you disbelieve

When the truth is right in front of you
You have to see it for what it truly is

And that is gratefulness because to understand the importance of
a good person, good friend

Can be once in a lifetime

To find a soul mate in a friend
Is special

To create a bond of trust
To share honestly
Even when I don’t like it
But it always ended up needing it

A pair of misfits
A lifetime of laughter

Silliness
Sadness

The good and bad and everything in-between

Joyful
Thoughtful

Weirdly unique

No matter what always there

I love person and I will forever be thankful
To call my friend

Dear Unsealers,

Being grateful is something that I don’t do enough 
especially when life is rough
but when the grateful spirit enters the mind
A great wave of gratitude gives me joy inside  

There are so many things I’m grateful for 
and have me eager to see what more
 life has in store

I’m grateful every day to have another chance
and to start a new dance
I’m grateful for another day to choose
even when I have the blues

I’m grateful that I was given the blessing of life 
even though it’s filled with constant strive
I’m grateful for the life experiences that I’ve had
Some happy and some deeply sad

I’m grateful that I’m in a different place
when years ago, my head was in a different space
I’m grateful for the many connections I’ve made
some connections remained, while others faded away

I’m grateful for the achievements I’ve accomplished so far
they make me feel that it’s possible to reach the stars
And I’m grateful to be in a position to be able
to express feeling grateful

I’m grateful for blue skies, warm sunshine, and a breeze that kisses the nose.
I’m grateful for green grasses and rushing creeks and bare feet.
I’m grateful for friends and lovers that grab you by the hand and dance with you.
I’m grateful for their consistent reminders, “You’re safe here. I love you.”
I’m grateful for the forehead kisses my love gives me,
And that he bends down to let me kiss his forehead right back.
I’m grateful for the safety of my home, and I’m grateful for a newcomer’s compliments,
“It looks like a gallery in here!” Thank you, the art is my favorite, too.
I’m grateful, especially, for the rabbit posed in play, a floppy handstand,
That’s been in our home longer than my memories. It’s one of my first ones.
I’m grateful for the way the sun shines into my mother’s bedroom just before sunset in spring.
It bathes the house in gold and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
I’m grateful for the drums that echo in my chest at the concert in Alpharetta,
And the music that reverberates in my bones. I’m grateful to have a body that feels the music.
It’s exhilarating and soothing, an ecstasy I don’t need to swallow.
I’m grateful for cats with soft fur and who love love love ear scratches.
I’m grateful to my body and my brain for giving me the gift of sensation.
Even when it’s too much, or not enough, I’m grateful to be present to feel.

I sit up,
Look up,
Firing my appreciation
To God, in whose contemplation,
Veneration, I’m engrossed
In my thanks to all that
I’ve got, that’s on the spot:
Family to love and cherish,
Kin to pray and think of me as I perish,
Friends who’ll miss my presence,
As our discussions cover matters that hence
Ruminate over social changes
Trending through social media’s
Imposing pressure over all genders
And age groups who surrenders
Their freedom to bondage
Of our sovereignty over our charge:
Our immortal soul, whose barred
From its morality, replaced
By being led to sins that destroy
Your connection to the All Mighty. A ploy,
To reduce believers that rebel against sins of immorality.

I used to make a wish on 11:11. But now the time goes by and I don’t even bat an eye, because I used to wish for you and I. You are the shooting star I wished on when I was young , the birthday candles I blew out on my 23rd birthday, the penny I threw in the fountain, you are everything I asked for and more. How did I get so lucky ? Was it all the wishing and fishing in the sea of all the people I’ve ever met , I’d make a bet they’d think it’s luck. But the reality is I had to fight for you. Fight the demons at night that held me so tight. They told me I wasn’t worthy of love and that everyone else would be put above, that is until you showed up. Your green eyes and perfect smile just in time to drive me wild but somehow also make me feel calm and protected. All the times I went fishing in the sea of people when in reality you were the whole ocean and all I had to do was look up , and I guess that’s why they called it luck. I don’t know what to wish for on 11:11 because you already feel like heaven.