I stand sure in who I am.

I don’t owe you an explanation
for my sheer existence.

There is no toll I will pay
to pass your validation checkpoints.

Don’t you dare open your mouth
to speak for my heart and
who I choose to love.

Just because I am
more open than your mind,
does not mean I’ll be belittled
or fit the boxes you’ve defined.

When I say,
“this is who I am”
I am not inviting you
to argue otherwise.

The love I have to give
overflows more than you
could ever hope to know.

So try to deny us,
but know you won’t divide us.

Try and bend me all you will,
but know you’ll never break me.

Because I stand sure in who I am.

∞

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There has been a great deal of discourse on Twitter these past few days, after a querying author shared that an agent they’d reached out to rejected them because they were a woman in a relationship with a man, and this agent felt that didn’t make this person “bi enough” to deserve representation.

Biphobia runs rampant, and so I wrote this piece out of a need for affirmation, as a way to remind myself that this part of my identity is not something I’ll allow to be policed by others. I hope other bi authors can read this piece, and know that no matter who you you give your heart to, you are always enough exactly as you are.

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This poem was originally shared in my newsletter, Queery Letters. Subscribe for free, or become a supporter of the publication for $5 a month.

For more of my poetry, visit my shop. Use code QUEERY for 40% off all items.

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Featured Photo by Brittney Burnett on Unsplash