Expired Heart & Hearth: Crafting Our Stories of Queer Belonging

• Date: Saturday, December 7, 2024
• Time: 1:00-4:00
• Tuition: $49.00
• Open to: All-gender 18+, lgbtqia-identifying people
• Facilitators: Rowe Schnure (they/them) & Hannah Simon Goldman (she/her)
• Location: In-person Women Writing for (a) Change Building

Join a community of queer writers for an afternoon of guided prompts and open sharing to explore our stories, nurture our spirits, and fill our cups together before the winter season. Whether reflecting on personal experiences or celebrating chosen family, this space invites you to express your unique voice and stories. No writing experience is necessary!

Chosen Family by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

When you find your people you’ll still look over your shoulder sometimes
to see if you’re being followed. You’re hoping one or two people you don’t
know will want to see where you’re going. When you find your people
they won’t ask you where you came from because they’ll already know
& if they don’t they’ll be busy putting good food on your plate & asking you
if you’re hungry or broke. When you find your people they’ll tell you
to use any bathroom you want, marry anybody you want, work side-by-side
together for long hours in close quarters without any fear of being harmed.
When you find your people they’ll throw the ball to you, offer you
their love song & say you need to listen to this track & dance with us
whether or not you know all the steps. When you find your people
they’ll say Do You Remember & you’ll say Yes until you remember together
the different ways the whole thing happened. When you find your people
they’ll say wear whatever you want, wear the tightest dress, wear the hot pants,
wear your birthday suit. They’ll say we love your skin & drag & natural hair
& we love you naturally so please just live & don’t let anybody kill you
or tell you they’ve killed you & you’re just fine the dead way you are. When you
find your people don’t leave them & don’t let them off the hook when they are
in the wrong. When they are trying to take themselves out of the world
lay your hands on them & call them yours & yours & yours.
When you find your people be sure you’ve been preparing your heart
the entire way by loving your difficult self & what you pretend you don’t know
but you do so that when you see them smiling into your eyes, the soft
or tough flags of their hands covering yours in a truth so light & fierce you see
you all have been midair for some time & could go higher & burn some shit up
if you remembered what else is good everywhere & everywhere you look.