Preferred

It is a preference,

My preference,

To keep my sides shaved close,

And my high top high,

When stepping fresh out of the barbershop.

It is a preference,

My preference,

To have my sandwich cut into four equal triangles,

Never squares,

Before satisfaction can satiate my hunger.

It is a preference,

My preference,

To stand pretty in a pair of dirty sneakers,

Whilst she stands tall in plus inched heels,

The invite did read: smart casual.

It is a preference,

My preference,

To hang copper, leather and beaded medallions from my neck,

And keep that girl’s best friend,

Clear cut, off my fingers and wrists.

It is a preference,

My preference,

To fuck to the rhythm of my ancestors heartbeat,

Yet,

It is not a preference,

That her body is not his.

Not to love on a man. Not him.

It is not a preference.

My queerness is not preferred.

It dictates the swing of my infatuation,

And informs of womxn that grab hold of an emotion,

Romantic,

And opens up my vulnerability exclusively to her,

Only to find safety in her ample bosom.

Genderqueer is not a preference.

To not conform to binary stipulations is not my preference.

To identify as me. Not a preference.

My pronouns are not preferred.

I ask that she addresses me as they,

That he,

When he speaks of me,

He speaks of them and their collective beauty,

Because the balance of masculinity and femininity that is me demands it.

It is not a preference.

My skin,

Brown, Coarse haired, Inked and Pierced,

Tells the story of my continent,

My voice ululates in the languages of my people who continue to make it,

Aluta Continua will cease as our legacy.

My Afrikanness is not preferred.

It imposes on the way that I walk,

It lingers in the air long after I have spoken,

Feeds my spirit as my bible remains, preferably, unopened.

Preferred.

Not a preference.

My bread and how I choose to enjoy it.

The way I choose to style my locs.

My hightops and kicks. Preferably red in full colour.

No longer enriching those who came to destroy.

Their wars. Their beliefs. Their toys. Their ideas.

My choice.

It is a preference.

My preference.

My identity is not a choice.

Transgender. Gender Never Conforming. Queer. Gender. Genderqueer.

Not a preference.

Queer. Gynosexual. Womxn; with the “X”.

Not a preference.

Not my preference.

Me. Beautiful. Handsome.

Beautifully Handsome.

Not a choice.

Afrikan. Black. Proud.

Not preferred.

Just me.