These Colors.
A poem about about being LGBTQ+ and becoming comfortable with the colors you wear.
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Was it 2019, when I first begun experimenting with my gender identity? I started off as genderfluid, shifting to transgender, and eventually to non-binary. My name Hazel was a product of those shifts, cementing in myself a version of me I felt happier with.
The old name never felt quite right, though at one point it was all I knew myself as. You could say the same with my sexuality— these aspects of myself some might disagree with. Because at one point, I didn’t even know of the possibilities. Being able to live in a way that feels more you.
But there is a divide, and has been for a long time. There are people with power and influence, hoping to sway the narrative… twisting what it means to be queer or trans. Pushing shame and hate onto people who just simply want to live as themselves. Yet, the community still stands, regardless of the vitriol thrown their way.
These Colors
(First Written, 2022.)
The flag is a pond
In which I rest
My tired legs in.
You see, each
Of these colors
Are fluid.
Interchangeable,
Fluctuating like the
Weather around us.
But yet, it is firm.
It gives me strength;
Not just in myself,
But in all of you
As well.
A look at some pieces from the
community I think you might enjoy.
1. The Winter Council by lokikone.
A beautiful piece with an incredible, songlike flow, that utilises imagery to paint a compelling and emotional tone. I also love the story component, too— introducing a challenger to the love instilled by this cold, artic land. It’s tense, but confident, and it demands your attention all the way through, not that you could feel able to look away. Here’s an excerpt I enjoyed:
“In subnivean chambers warm and low
where voles make highways under drifted snow
where roots still breathe and sleeping seeds perdure
I find what makes the killing season pure
The critic stands on ice and points his blade
at every heart that ventures unafraid
but I have learned what creatures know by birth
that life runs deeper than the frozen earth"
2. Counting Silence by Rebecca Watson (ReBe).
A heart-warming piece that reinforces how good it is to have someone who understands you and your needs. The poem is carefully written, with each line only furthering its core message — “Tenderness isn’t something you have to learn”. Here’s an excerpt I enjoyed:
“The third time
I asked him why.
Why this ritual.
Why the careful patience
of someone counting silence.
He smiled
like the answer had been waiting.”
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