Transition
Gianni Elcuri 2/15

Part 1
I am not a cosmetic
Surgery.
I change lives of many.
When gender and sex
Don’t match,
I am there.
When your voice is
High,
I make it
Low.

I am not a cosmetic
Surgery.
I save lives of many.
When you know something
Isn’t right,
I fix it.
When you have a flat
Chest,
I bump it up.

I am not a cosmetic
Surgery.
I change people for
Who they should
Be.
I give them the lives
They should have
Had.

Part 2
Thick, midnight,
Curly hair
Chopped short.
Sweet smelling fragrances
Dissolve and form
Masculine, musky scents.
The sugar coated
Lies,
Turn into the bitter
Sour
Truth.

Agonizing wails
Escape
The mouth

No more laughs and giggles.
Just the revolting
authenticity.

Black clouds swallowing
You up at night
Because this is
NOT
Who you are.

Part 3
16) I am a transgender boy.
Go live with that
Hood rat.
That nigger.
I can’t stand you.

15) You don’t belong here.
You’re a disgrace to this family.
Get out of my house

14) You’re going through a
Phase.
You’re trying to be like
Everyone
Else.
You. Are. Not. Gay.

13) Stop
Shut up.
You can’t be real.
You’re gay?!
That’s gross.

12) Why would you post that?
You’re an embarrassment.
God.
What are people going to
Think of my parenting?

11) Why can’t I
Have that toy?
I want it.
Mommy says it’s for
Boys.
But,
I am a boy.

10) NO!
You’re going to wear that skirt, Gianna.
NO MOMMY!

9) Mommy can you
Get me this?
Put that away, Gianna.
Why?
Because
Dinosaurs are
For boys.
But Mommy,
I am
A boy.
No you’re not.         

8)
7)
6)

5) This is you’re big day, babe.
It’s the first day of school!
But, Mommy
Why do I have to wear a dress?
Because baby, you’re my
Beautiful
Little
Girl.
     
4)
3)
2)

1) She looks like a
Boy.

0)  Congratulations.
It’s a
Girl.

Justice
By Whitney Breland

Peace
Shouldn’t we all be getting it?
But some just try to fit in with the others who have
Nothing to do better in their lives but judge
While you’re along the halls smiling
They’re walking holding a grudge
Some things you can’t help
Color of skin, religion, just the way you look
While they’re focusing on you, you’re just focusing on your books
Something they should be doing, maybe every day
Instead they’re always looking, trying to find something to say
You can’t even focus in school
They’re too busy trying to find the next joke to crack
Oh he won’t pass this class or graduate, he’s too black
Don’t let him in this school he’s going to kill us all for fun
Because he’s white you think in his book bag he has a gun?
He’s racist, she’s racist, that’s always the main topic
How about we just shut up, end it, and stop it

I Have a Friend
By Ashaliegh Carrington 3/15

I have a friend whose smile lights up a room
And a personality almost as caring as Mother Teresa’s
She puts everyone’s needs before her own
But she almost took her life for not talking about how she actually felt.

I have a friend who is nice with a mean side
Both selves struggling for power in her mind
Then a little something called weed came on by
I told her, “You’ll die if you keep doing this!”
She simply said, “You don’t really need brain cells to live anyway.”

I have a friend who didn’t want to come out
He believed that everyone would judge or even hurt him
Even his own parents worried he’d go to hell
When he came out he was welcomed with open arms
That boy has been happy ever since

I have a friend who was lost in love
He couldn’t live without it as if it were some sort of miracle drug
He would try again and again
Until he would find someone to fill his heart with love

I have had close friends that have come and gone
They all want to tell their story of being hurt and betrayed
Until I decided I would speak for them
This poem isn’t to show bad choices or mistakes made along the way
This is a poem for the strong that just can’t be brave.

Black Problems                                                                                                        
Lauryn Darden 2/15

This for the mothers who raised our black men
This is for the men who dislike black women
This is for the women who argue over their skin
This is for the brothas who are killing their own, with no remorse for their sin
These are our black problems
And if we can’t even acknowledge them, we won’t blossom

We will remain in evident ignorance
if we don’t start making a difference

1.
To all the beloved black queens
Who bestowed the knowledge and the means
To your soon-to-be black kings
Instilling in them more than what society brings
To be beyond the thoughts of them –
The thief, the nigga, the killa –
And to prove to this world they too can be amazing men

I’m sorry
Because when your son sees a woman like you, they act chary
You raise your son with no neglect                                                                                                
Yet they show this disrespect 

We will remain in evident ignorance
if we don’t start making a difference

2.
I’m talking about our black light skin men
Who shout, “I only like Puerto Ricans”
Oblivious to the fact they’re degrading their kin
I’m talking about our dark skin men
Who belittle the women of the same complexion

Raised by chocolate women
Who gave you all the love in the world
Yet you have the audacity to say “I don’t like black girls”


Our amazing chocolate women
Why do you defy them?
The love for them should be abundant
But you act quite different

You’ve witnessed a pure black woman during your youth
Yet you compare her to the ghetto, loud black girl with the crooked tooth
There is so much more than skin and face
Yet you don’t see that it’s like that with every race

Eighteen years of being devoted to you
Does your mother know this is your view?
You should be ashamed of yourself too
It was a black woman who taught you your worth
Always love yourself and thank the one who gave you birth

We will remain in evident ignorance
if we don’t start making a difference

3.
This is for our young black women
Who are against each other, as if there’s competition
Under the impression that lighter is better                                                                                   Yet all black is beautiful, don’t you remember?

“Team light skin is winning”                                                                                                 
“Team dark skin is slaying”                                                                                                          
It's really quite scary to me                                                                                                          
Slowly segregating our own people, don’t you see?

We will remain in evident ignorance
if we don’t start making a difference

4.
A black man killing a black man
Thus oppression began
The white man is no longer our only enemy
With each other, we have lost our humanity
 
The white man no longer has to make us bleed
Because our own people are doing the sinful deed
Helping each other don’t cost a thing; it’s free!
We shouldn’t be at war with each other, don’t you agree?

We will remain in evident ignorance
if we don’t start making a difference