What am I doing?! I just lied to mum. She asked if I was going to Pride with Ben. I said no, we're gonna watch a movie. Of course I'm going to Pride! With Ben!

And now I'm in the shower trying to figure out if I ask Ben to be my boyfriend before or after the parade. After? Yeah, after.

I jump out the shower, pad down the hall, open my bedroom door and there, on my bed, are two tiny handheld rainbow flags. The note beside them reads: Have fun at Pride with Ben, love Mum.

 

Love Mum by Scott-Patrick Mitchell. Scott-Patrick Mitchell was the recipient of the 2022 Red Room Poetry Fellowship and the 2023 XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word. Their debut poetry collection Clean (Upswell Publishing, 2022) was shortlisted for The Prime Minister's Literary Awards, The WA Premier's Book Awards and The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards.