I was born and raised in the middle of nowhere.

Why is nowhere met with such dismissal or disdain?

I am never lonely in the middle of nowhere, so much life in every unkept corner. So much more space for unruly thoughts.

When I was younger I ran from nowhere, I believed what they told me - that queer artists with feminist rage and wonder could not survive there.  

Now I crave periodic nowhere infusions and am grateful that my parents have not left nowhere behind. They welcome me home, to the house they built 50 years ago when they were also seeking nowhere, a place to drop in to the larger world of unkept corners and unruly thoughts, a place to hold them in turbulent times.

Blue sky with scattered white clouds and power lines running across the left side of the image.
Close-up of the ground with small green plants and scattered white fluffy seeds, with sunlight shining from the top left.
Sunset over a grassy and bushy area with trees and a hill in the background.
A distorted Anna Helgeson photo of a grassy field with tall grass and trees under a partly cloudy sky with the sun shining.
Close-up of three spiky things with white fluffy bits on a white table above a brown floor, with blue confetti scattered everwhere
A realistic-looking model of a Canadian wolf standing on a rocky terrain display in a store. A yellow sign indicates the price as $2500.