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I’m leaving signs to point the way
Radical affirmations of all that’s been unspoken
Subversive gems in my art for future generations
& most especially I'm here to point the way towards a future that is sure to be free and gender diverse like me
For there have been countless ignorant lies perpetrated against us
& we have been treading in its muck
Since the Victorian era heaped curses upon us
Dictating a code of life that is over a century outdated
But here, on my virtual cave walls, are some truths:
& what is true is that the existence of your beautifully perfect trans body is an act of war
Let me then write you, dear warriors who come after me,
all my seeds for a better future
Fold them into a letter I can tuck deep into your coat pockets
I wish for all of you:
Enough smooth roads ahead to keep you carrying on
Because the terrain is sure to be rough & treacherous
For there is a very long way
Of undoing what has been done yet to go
I wish for you:
Someone
Drawn to your beautifully perfect soul
Who will call you:
My sweet baby angel, My Prince, My precious chosen one
& heap all the gender affirming praises that you were robbed of
Since a doctor decided to raise you by your tiny helpless ankles
And proclaim who you were
One breath & an exhale before you even had a chance to cry your first battle cry
Friends, I wish for you:
Gentle forehead kisses
Hair being swept off tear drenched faces
A chosen family of beloveds who look thoughtfully
Into your tired eyes
Telling you a thousand times, A million times over
Until the truth of it weighs so heavy
It displaces all the falsehoods that have unwittingly
Been fashioned into your burdens
I wish for you to see:
You are perfect, As you are
A design brought into being by the old Gods
& millennia before such lies
(Which were never ours to take on)
Were inflicted upon us
Sweet trans children of tomorrow
I wish for you a gentle hand
Deserving of your vulnerability
And I pray that life becomes so peaceful
That you soon forget what it was like
To flinch
At every approach
I wish for you:
Explosive full embodied joy
As you look in the mirror & dance your ecstasy
Moving in ways that no one dare dictate
I send my wishes into the cosmos:
An image of generations of trans bodies walking assured—
Experiencing everything it means to be alive
In their most perfect authentic expressions
Affirmed
& celebrating in all your innate wisdom
The human
You always knew to be
With every mark I leave,
I plant seeds of hope that likely will never flourish until long past my allotted time
& I wish I could set you free
But most of all
I wish for you shelter from doubting your worthiness
& I wish for you to know
How perfect
How beautiful
How complete
How whole
How exactly as the world has always needed
Perfectly
Authentically
Magically
2Spirit
Transgender
Intersex
Gender diverse
Genderless
You