How I Became a Lesbian by Becky Birtha

It's not that you
_become_ this way
so much as it is
something you always were
someone you one day realize
you are

like the discovery
that you would have always loved
star fruit
kiwis or
mangoes
only you never knew they existed until
you were halfway through your life.

Maybe you remember the day you
discovered mangoes
when you and a friend
fed thick, pulpy slices
into each other
mouths open in astonishment.

Maybe you remember
your first taste—
and the startling comprehension
of the possibilities
of life in a world that included
this incredible
sweet
reality.