Skip to main content

TRANSGENDER ANTHEM by Jennifer Wenn


EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, we offer you a poem in honor of The Transgender Day of Remembrance which is observed annually, today, on November 20th, as a day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. The day was founded in 1999 to draw attention to the continued violence endured by transgender people, and as a call to replace it with peace and compassion.

  

Transgender Anthem


by Jennifer Wenn


 

Since time immemorial,

revealed or hidden,

self-aware or suppressed,

we have been here.

 

Through pain, confusion and joy,

tearing at contrary, shrouding shells,

we have been here.

 

We follow paths

indescribable and incredible,

yearning to shine forth

our extraordinary iridescence,

and we are here.

 

We are the convention-shakers,

                  mould-breakers,

                     trailblazers,

and we are here!

 

We are not an illness

                     or a theory

                     or a debating point;

We are flesh and blood,

marvellous souls and children of the cosmos, 

and we are here!

 

We are dismissed by the ignorant,

              stared at by the fear-blind,

              assailed because we dare to

              disturb comfortable prejudices,

but we are here!

 

We are scared yet courageous,

              despised yet loved,

              weary yet striding on,

and we are here!

 

We are children and parents,

              siblings and spouses,

              friends and lovers,

              colleagues and neighbours,

              poor and well-off,

and we are here!

 

Hatred fells some of us

but we remain unshakeable

                           unbreakable

        bright, blazing beacons of

        a new, rediscovered spirit,

and we absolutely,

              emphatically,

              now and forever

Will Be Here!


(This poem originally appeared in Tuck Magazine) 




Jennifer Wenn is a trans-identified writer and speaker from London, Ontario. Her first poetry chapbook, A Song of Milestones, has been published by Harmonia Press (an imprint of Beliveau Books). Upcoming is her first full-length poetry collection, Hear Through the Silence (from Cyberwit). She has also written From Adversity to Accomplishment, a family and social history; and published poetry in Beliveau Review, The Ekphrastic Review, Watchyourhead, Open Minds Quarterly, Tuck Magazine, Synaeresis, Big Pond Rumours, the League of Canadian Poets Fresh Voices, Wordsfestzine, and the anthologies Dénouement and Things That Matter.  She is also the proud parent of two adult children. You may visit her website by clicking here. 


*For submission guidelines, click here.*

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Gather
18 comments
Read more

IMBOLC by Caroline Mellor

The inspiration for this poem came after I watched a magical winter sunset and full moonrise from the top of Firle Beacon in the South Downs... Unusually for me, I wrote the poem quite quickly and changed it very little before publishing it – perhaps the energies were working through my pen! Imbolc is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s a fire festival which I particularly love because of its associations with Brigid, the Celtic Mother Goddess of arts and crafts, clear sight, healing, inspiration and nurturance of creative talents – something which, through my writing, I am always trying to connect with.  I also love Imbolc because, with so much darkness and negativity in the world today, it is a time for hope, potential, visioning and initiation. With love and blessings as the light returns. Photography by Chanel Baran IMBOLC    by Caroline Mellor I am the dream of awakening. I am the returning of the night.  I am the tough green
1 comment
Read more

WINTER SOLSTICE: A GIFT OF LOVE by Carolyn Riker

I’ve had several days now of alone time… It is unusual and a gift that I couldn’t see until I breathed it. I have been able to watch the sun’s rise through the grey of dawn and smile at the flickers of frost melting on the waving boughs of evergreen. It’s unique to follow daylight as it traverses the tempo of a cat’s soft slumbering purr. Night comes swifter and the glow of candles and the flames of fire comfort me more than the steady stream of always-doing-more. As much as I resisted, I needed this break. I had no idea how much my body was trying to tell me   slow down   until the exhaustion settled in around my joints. My eyes swam in molasses. Heaviness of I-can’t-hold-out-much-long, walked me to the throne of my nest. It’s winter’s gift of self-nurturing and love. It’s been a quiet proclamation of femininity and a need for comfort foods. Lemon crisps and cranberry, white-chocolate shortbread dipped in tea; I felt a hint of being pampered without
5 comments
Read more