Triple Threat
Unpopular opinion:
I don’t think I was born gay
And for the record I don’t think I was born straight either
To be honest
I don’t like the idea of a predisposition
I don’t like the idea that fragments of him
Splintered off to make limbs of me
Or that one day
My skin will be identical to hers
I don’t like the idea that the monster in my head
Lived under his bed first
And that not even the way I choose to self-destruct
Can be called original
But if all of this is true
Then I am my father’s daughter
Which is to say that
I am an addict just like him
Which is to say
They saw the warning signs
And heard the alarms bells
Because they were the ones
Who set the count down
50% of my DNA
And I still wouldn’t recognize him
In an empty room
My father
Justified and forgiven because
He had to walk to school up hill both ways and
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Fuck that
I don’t think I was born gay
I think that sexuality is a spectrum
But when the first man
That is supposed to love you
Lights a match
That gets fed
By other hungry hands when you’re a child
And by a smooth tongue when you’re in middle school
And by drug-induced misunderstandings when you’re in college
And the fire grows
Until one end of the spectrum
Is covered in ash
Why the fuck is anyone surprised
When we see-saw back
Towards the safety of the ground
To the women
Who have shown me that
Not all kitchens need to be battlegrounds
Thank you
Without you
I would still be afraid of thunderstorms
To my father
I’m just wondering
Which 50% you’d like to claim as your own after seeing
That this tongue spits
More honey than venom
And these hands plant
More gardens than graveyards
Tell me which of my parts
Resemble yours the closest
Are there any?
Can you find even one?
I am the product of a loaded gun father
And a mother who fumbled the safety
Which is to say
I attempted to catch
Every clay pigeon that was shot into the sky
Without its consent
And ended up with shrapnel in my ribcage instead
I sacrificed my innocence
Just to prove I am untouchable
I keep having to prove I am untouchable
I went no contact with my parents recently
And on days where it's particularly hard
I remind myself
I don't think I was born knowing how to treat them
They showed me how to do that
Brooke Gerbers
Brooke or B the Poet (she/they) is a queer spoken word poet currently residing in Denver, CO. They started their poetry career in the slam scene in 2019, and since then, has had the opportunity to perform and compete in various cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Baltimore and Las Vegas. They have also been able to use their passion for merging advocacy and the arts by being a guest speaker at human right’s rallies, and abortion rights fundraisers, as well teaching workshops as at local high schools and colleges. Brooke is a five time published poet, with their first full-length collection, Skydiving Without a Parachute and Other Success Stories, that made its debut in September 2024. They also have a self-published zine: Witches Wolves Women, and their poems appear in four other anthologies. When Brooke is not on a stage, you can probably find them in the mountains with a dead car battery and their puppy, Myka, just hoping everything works itself out.