and my body was her first canvas.
we made these marks together,
not with ink and needle,
but with time, with blood,
and with a heartbeat.
Read More
Trans people often say we feel as if
we are trapped in the wrong body.
It is a metaphor we invented,
so that language (and people) will let us in.
My flesh has become paper thin, folded
into books on your shelf
until the spines split.
You sit in moms bed and yell for her to come and get you with a smile on your face / I guess you didn’t care about being scared to ask for what you wanted / You never even asked, i don’t think / you always screamed /
Read More
my body has been my body before i was allowed to paint my nails /
or wear makeup / or shave my small tan legs in mom’s clean white tub /
as i giggled and hugged myself / because this is what big girls did
This body will weigh down by judgments.
The scars too will be mocked and questioned.
The flab will be disgusted and hated.
Cursing the periods, while thinking, you should’ve gone out or waited.
so please treat your body
like a friend
you don’t have to find it
beautiful
you don’t even have
to love it
Like many of us, I spent years getting angry at my body for not doing the things I wanted it to do, not being the things I wanted it to be. Things I had seen would gain me acceptance.
Read More
the man tells me
i am his favorite place
to come
and pray.