Just Another Random Poem

Summer of 2015
This summer is a revolution
And children of the future
Will likely have to remember these
Dates,
Cramming for the newest,
The latest and greatest
Brain-draining exam.

This summer has been testing
As my black and trans sisters
Are murdered around me
And the TV only mentions
White people's names.

This is the summer
Of 2015 -
A silenced summer
As Jennicet Gutierrez
Screams for justice.

This is a summer of justice
Of vengeance for violence -
Of remembrance,
Because being black
Shouldn't be a crime.

This is a summer of sexuality,
Of bodily autonomy
Because in one small way
Rich white Christians
Are forced to respect my
Humanity,
Because I have the satisfaction
Of slightly increased control
Over my own body.

This is the summer
In which the world finally knows
That Josh Duggar didn't allow his sisters the same.

This is a summer
In which history has been repeated
In which blood has been shed.
In which people have died.

This is a summer
In which childless mothers have cried
Because #AllLivesMatter
As long as those lives are cis and white.

Let's learn from this summer of 2015
So that, as they study it in history class,
The children of the future will not repeat our mistakes.

Latin@ Poetry

In addition to being Autism Awareness Month, April is also Hispanic Heritage Month and Poetry Month. Therefore...

Ten Responses to the Phrase 'Man Up' - Guante

Accents - Denise Frohman

Being Hispanic - Greg Garcia

For Jesse Hernandez - Denise Frohman

Brown Girl - Yesika Salgado

Shrapnel - Amaris Diaz

Frats - Jozer Guerrero

It's Not Just One Life

While surfing YouTube, I came across a racist comment about Michael Brown's murder that portrayed the white citizens of Ferguson, MO, as innocent victims. The comment basically said that people are making a big fuss over nothing. As if the murder of an innocent man was nothing.

I hate people sometimes.

But...I have abilities that I can use to be an ally to people of color. I have white privilege, which means that in so many circles, I will be taken more seriously than a person of color would. My white privilege means that my grandparents and great-grandparents were granted access to high-quality education and high-paying jobs; that I was born into a wealthy family and live in a wealthy neighborhood, less than two miles away from one of the most rigorous and supportive public high schools in the state.

It isn't right or fair that I live the cushy life I do. I don't deserve this life. But I can use it to help change the world, and that is important. That is why I wrote this poem. It's called It's Not Just One Life.


It wasn't just one life. It was the life of Michael Brown, of Eric Garner, of Trayvon Martin, of every black boy who has been shot by police. It is the life of Tyra Hunter, the black woman who died of medical neglect in 1995. It is the life of every trans woman of color who has been murdered because society hates anyone who doesn't fit into its bullshit box called "normal" well guess what THERE IS NO NORMAL!

 It is the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., assassinated because he dared to fight for his people's right to equality. It is the life of every black woman raped in slavery, of every man whipped, of every person devalued or killed because they weren't white. It is the life of every Cherokee who died on the Trail of Tears, every Chinese worker on the Continental Railroad forced to work under crappy conditions for low wages because WHITE PEOPLE decided they didn't deserve any better, it is the life of every child murdered in Central America because they weren't allowed a safer place to stay, every Rom killed in the Holocaust.

It is the life of everyone and anyone murdered because their identity didn't match up to what the kyriarchy felt it "should" be, as if white straight rich Christian cis enabled male is somehow the ideal. It's not the ideal. It's not normal, but because you fall into one or more of those categories, you have been allowed to say that it is the ideal. You have been allowed to pretend it was JUST ONE LIFE.

It is not just one life. It never has been. But maybe we can stop the body count increasing.

A Sort-of Random Poem

In my lit class, we wrote book spine poetry - that is, we took books out of the library and stacked them up so the titles formed lines of poetry.

Here's mine:

Ever after
Dreamland
The world we live in
Consumed
Behind the gates
Echo
Secrets of truth and beauty

Coming Out Poem

The day I first came out to someone (Mrs. Avila, you can read about her on the Cast of Characters page), I was so thrilled and relieved that I wrote a poem about it. And now that I'm out to quite literally everyone, I figure it's time I shared it.

Day of Silence is coming
and already I am mute.
For months I have been silent
I have been scared,
desperate, a liar.

I blew my chance with an amazing girl,
Because she didn't know I was bi.
But I promised myself
I would come out to someone
And tonight I've finally found my courage;
I've finally found someone I can trust
My youth minister, the woman who
Has been more like a mother to me
Than my own mom.

I walk up and force out the words,
And she just hugs me and says it's okay
Not that it's a choice
Not that I'm going to hell
Not that I need to be cured.

It's my first time coming out
And I've never been more terrified
Even though I knew she would accept me
Because DNA doesn't make a family,
Love does.
And families stick together no matter what.

So I just wanted to say
No matter how scared you are,
It does get better.
I found my courage and faced my fears
I don't have to be straight to be loved
God made me bisexual
And that is something to be proud of

The Day of Silence is coming up
And I'm speaking out -
Finally, I'm not silent anymore
--------

And yes, I wrote it two days before Day of Silence. I'd promised myself I'd come out to someone,  in solidarity,  and I trust her more than pretty much anyone else in the world. So I told her.

Yet Another Random Poem

An Open Letter to Conservative Christians

Dear Conservative Christians:
Not everyone is like you.
Not everyone identifies as Christian.
And for those that do -
I'm a Christian too
And I know that shaming was never part of Jesus' mission

Dear Conservative Christians:
Love is love
And it's not always between a man and a woman
So why should we have to prove that our love is real?
Why should our sexuality even be any of your business?
Why do you assume it's a choice? It's not.
 I'm so sure of this, I dare you to try it for a year
Because this is what you need to hear:
Shaming was never part of Jesus' mission

Dear Conservative Christians:
What exactly is a man's garment? What exactly is a woman's garment?
Clothing doesn't have genitals.
Does it offend you, to see someone 'changing' their gender?
They're just trying to feel more comfortable in their own skin.
I'm not trying to shock you, just trying to explain
Because your attempts to 'fix' people are only causing them pain
It's shaming, and shaming was never part of Jesus' mission

Dear Conservative Christians:
Yes, privilege exists.
It's simply invisible to you because you benefit from it.
When people's rights and feelings are ignored
Because the truth makes you uncomfortable
That's not okay. You don't need to apologize for who you are
But the fact is, you have so many advantages that others
Will never enjoy. So how about instead of expecting people
To conform to your beliefs and expectations
Be an ally for those who haven't enjoyed your privileges and help improve this nation
Because when you don't, you ignore that shaming, and shaming was never part of Jesus' mission

Dear Conservative Christians:
You may think I sound hypocritical
Like I'm imposing my views on you
But I'm only trying to help humanity rise above
The shaming which must give way to love
And love will always be Jesus' mission

Another Random Poem

A guy we'll call Rick once asked about his troubles letting go of his anger and heartbreak toward his sociopathic ex-boyfriend. I gave him some advice about what I do when I get my heart broken: live. Do the things that make you happy! But I think Rick is really depressed about this guy (which makes me want to track the jerk down and cut his balls off), so I thought about what else I do: pray.

God has always given me strength when I felt weak, hope when I thought all hope was lost, love when I needed it most. He has given me strength to conquer the most difficult challenges I've ever encountered and sometimes even been the only reason I've had to strive. He is the best thing in my life.

I was going to say that, but there's one problem: Rick is an atheist. So instead, I reached deep inside and thought about how else I could communicate the power of love that is the Holy Spirit in each of us, the power that can perform miracles and give eternal hope. I could have said that the hurt of this earthly life will feel like nothing when we are faced with eternity, an eternity of love and light, the most perfect and all-consuming to ever exist. Because then? Then, all our time on Earth will just feel like a flash, and the bad times will seem like nothing. Eternity can really give you perspective. I could have said that even though human beings can be vicious and cruel, at least we know that there is one Person who loves us enough to bring about our very existence, die for us, and forgive us when we don't deserve it.

What did I actually say? I'll portray it in this poem (not the exact words I used).


 Sunshine
I've been hurt, broken, crushed. I've loved and lost and had my heart shattered by those who didn't deserve my love in the first place. My world has been stormy, and I've lost my sunshine.

No, I haven't. I've been damaged, but not beyond repair. I've been hurt, but not killed. My world has been stormy, but I've never lost my sunshine.

It is our choice and our choice alone to allow destructive people into our lives. My life is too valuable to waste on those who don't deserve it, and so I surround myself with love and become renewed with strength in that my sunshine may spread.

There is always tomorrow and things are never as bleak as they seem. And in reminding myself of this, I became renewed with strength. Although the world may be stormy, there is a little sunshine in every situation.

In the sunshine, I forgave. I let it go, because anger and bitterness would only darken my soul. What's the point of holding a grudge when we can set it all - including ourselves - free?

I've been hurt, but I clothed my spirit in sunshine...and learned to dance in the rain.





Hope you liked it.

A Random Poem

Hey. It's like 10:30 at night, but I just felt the need to write this.

The Outcasts

I am the outcast. The socially awkward girl, the fat girl, the girl who never talks. But what you don't know is that I have trust issues because my mother has abused me ever since my father died. She's a drug addict, and when she's high, I'm an easy victim. So I took comfort in food. But the thing is, the food just disappeared - and left me this way. And I will never be able to forget, because I have autism and that means that any bad memory I have, any snide comment a bully makes or any sting of my mother's slaps, sticks with me forever. And then I realized I was a lesbian - but my best friend just keeps making homophobic comments and...and I'm not willing to be anyone's punching bag. I'm not willing to hide who I am. I'm coming out, and screw anyone who doesn't approve. I'm  terrified every day.

I am the outcast. I am the skinny guy, the guy who always wears dirty clothes and has greasy hair, the guy who sits in stony silence. But what you don't know is that my father walked out years ago, and ever since we're barely surviving. We can't afford to pay the water bill, to pay the electric bill, to buy food - s**t, we're almost homeless. And it doesn't help that my parents were poor to begin with. My mom is convinced that God is going to help us, but I'm running out of anything to believe in. Why would God leave us like this? My escape is drugs, drugs and music. Loud enough to block out the comments of the stupid f*****g yuppies around me. But pretty soon the high fades and I'm left with nothing. Then this random chick sat next to me in science class. Couldn't be any more different than me, but I feel like I can tell her anything, like she'll listen even if she can't possibly relate. It helps, venting to her.  I'm  terrified every day.

I am the outcast. I am the friendless girl, the scared girl, the girl whose voice nobody understands. But what you don't know is that I just moved from Mexico, so my English isn't the greatest, and I have a really thick accent. To make things worse, I'm "special needs," and for some ridiculous reason everyone thinks that means "stupid." Without even getting to know me. It's so different here, so fast fast fast and frightening. I've tried to make friends, but it's like people hate anyone different. They all look at me and snicker, or fix their pale faces into expressions of pity until I want to rip their eyes out. It's so infuriating; don't they understand that I have my pride? Then someone walked up to me and smiled, asked a question. A genuine question, like she really wanted to get to know me. Not like she felt sorry for me or was planning to laugh with her friends about it later. And now she's my best friend. It doesn't change the snickers and vicious whispers, the little insipid giggles that I wish didn't have the power to make me cry myself to sleep. I'm terrified every day.

They are the outcasts. They are the freaks. The kids who hang on the fringes of life, the kids you ignore. They are the outcasts. She is the autistic, overweight lesbian who writes beautiful poetry that no one will ever read, but all anyone sees is her body. He is the guy whose life is falling down around him and still manages to be the most selfless, caring person you will meet. She is the frightened girl with the voice only one person can decipher, but she has amazing courage and loyalty. They are the outcasts, the amazing people you may never know if you don't try. They're terrified every day.And the thing is - they're real people. They are real outcasts, people who have faded into the background, people you might know. 

They are the outcasts. But they don't have to be. No one does. So go, be that kid who listens to the frightened girl, be the girl who is that guy's only escape from the stress and poverty of his life, be the person that encourages that lesbian to come out and cheers her on the whole way. Be the person who changes their lives. Because no one should be terrified every day.

_________________________________________________________________________________

They actually are. I based them off of real people I've been extremely lucky to get to know.

Sorry the poem isn't that good - it's late at night and I'm tired but can't sleep. I kind of have to try, though. So goodnight.

Day of Silence

Yes, I realize Day of Silence is long gone, but the poem I wrote for it apparently made a difference in people's lives. That's why I'm copying and pasting it here - I don't want to alienate my cousins by leaving it there, but it's a good poem and I'm proud to use my talent for writing to help people.

It still doesn't have a title, though. I just think of it as 'The Day of Silence' poem.


"He's such a fa**ot."
"Butch b***h."
"Go die, queer."
These are just some of the cruel things people say,
Just because they are small,
Because they are afraid.
But what do we have to fear?
Love is love, and it's not always
Between a man and a woman.

You say being gay is unnatural?
Over 450 species have been
Known to display homosexuality
Yet the only homophobic one
Is humans. Which one is unnatural now?

In the high school halls yesterday
I heard two guys talking about someone
One of them said, "I'm not friends with him
Anymore." The other asked why, and the
First said, "Because he's gay." Laughing.
And my heart hurt for whoever they
Were talking about. It's just so juvenile
And stupid, to reject someone who matters
So much to you, just because of something
They can't help, something they never chose.

10% of people are LGBTQIA
That's what statistics say
So if you're bigoted, prejudiced,
Homophobic or transphobic -
Stop and think: It's very likely
Someone you love is scared to
Come out to you because they know
What you'll say
Uncomfortable?  Good.
People need to know; because love
Is the only way the hate can end.

This is why I say it loud and proud.
It's Day of Silence, and at my school
More people care that prom is coming up.
Today is the day of honor
For sexual and gender minorities
Who killed themselves because of others' hate
But no one even notices.
Innocent people have died because bigots
Were angry and afraid.

Whether you're straight, bi, asexual,
Trans, genderqueer, pan, gay, poly,
Or anything else, listen to this today
No matter what, we're all just people.
So even if it's just for a while,
Set aside your prejudice, your labels,
Your anger and fear. Love is love
And there's nothing wrong with being gay.