I am not writing to you

about the hard things

Associate Press article

Pauly Likens would have turned 15 on July 6. Police say the Mercer County teenager, who was transgender, was killed and dismembered by a 29-year-old man. DaShawn Watkins has been charged with first-degree murder; he remains in jail without bail. Photo used with permission of family. pennlive.com

AL.com article

Tayy Dior Thomas, 17, of Mobile, Ala. Thomas was killed in May, and her family remembers her as a kind, loving person. (Photo courtesy Rolanda Carl)

I am not writing to you
	about how we are in the news
	because we are transgender
	and we happen to be alive
	and have needs
	like healthcare
I am not writing to you
	about politics
	I mean, what if you disagree?
	and then you vote
	and I lose my marriage
	or my protections at work
	or the ability to take care of my family
I am not writing to you
	about how precious the little things are
	like the X on my driver’s license
	despite the pic that makes me look like a prison inmate
	or the M on my passport
	both of which could also be taken
	if someone wants me to disappear
I am not writing to you
	about project 2025
	but go read about it anyway
I am not writing to you
	about how it feels to think about airports
        or crossing state lines
        or looking “too gay” while I do either
I am not writing to you
	about my fear of my own femininity
	outing me
I am not writing to you
	about another news story
	of a trans kid being murdered
	or ending their own life
I am not writing to you
	about how terrified I am
	for trans kids
	who are just like I was
	who are the most beautiful children 
	that this world has sacrificed
I do not dare write to you
	about my own child
I am not writing to you
	as a free person
	in a world
	that wants him
I am writing to you
	as a man
	with a garden
	who tells a funny story
	while his world burns
	all around

Your trans friend,

Robin