Stories & Scars
Callan Williams
Transgender Day of Rememberance 2020
Remembering
so many transpeople
so many stories
emergence and pain
transcendence and loss
joy and struggle
becoming beyond constraint
Beneath all stories
so many stories
defensive and fantastic
timid and bold
denied and brave
rationalized and real
clinging and leaping
Beneath always beats
always beats
a heart lit by fire
of incandescent truth
of essence born
of deep knowledge
of hidden threads
of calling
of longing
of volcanic love
Then navigating
streets of society
trading off
compromising
playing games
evading shames
hiding traumas
all
compartments and surfaces
rules and roles
entitlement and comfort
demands and expectations
pleas and politics
pity and projection
dismissal and dehumanization
assumptions and assholes
tries and lies
shattering awareness
Pounded for silence
beaten for love
swaddled in armor
choking our vision
scraping for empowering reflections
of a hidden heart
yearning for intimacy
to touch the depth of us
stories of souls
true and broken
yet oozing with life
sparked within us
Our stories
our scars
boundary lines carved
upon our being
upon our bodies
upon our hearts
where the push of fear
meets the pull of love
daily threatened separation
against deep dreams
sweet internal connection to eternal eros
on a lovely, lonely journey
to our own divine humanity
gaining the humble privilege of a lifetime
to be become who we are
Callan 