if the humble poems i offer up in your name could bring you back to us
i’d never put my pen down
littering the city with haikus, limericks and love poems
everyone would know your name
everyone would know your name
there would no need for crying over candle flames
or sitting tight-lipped trying to be brave
we’d all be kindred, we’d all be community
community, what a funny word
we live in a place where churches sit planted on every corner
how about we talk agape love
and mean it?
let’s mean it, let’s not get bogged down in bullshit conversations of whether you “deserved it”
don’t you know no one deserves violence?
how come it’s so hard to recognize humanity?
humanity, what a concept
gender non-conforming people of color hunted down so often
angie zapata, duanna johnson, teish cannon are only a few this year
sheer numbers make it impossible for me to have poems for everyone
but everyone deserves respect, life, and their name spoken so i try
slain 5 miles from my house, i’m sorry i can only know you through an obituary
praying peace for your loved ones
justice for you
and quick end to this senseless violence
today i received an email expressing condolences for Jimmy McCollough, a gender non-conforming person who lived in my town and was slain yesterday, in what is looking like a hate crime. you can find out more here and here. didn’t know Jimmy (who identified as Imaje Devera on stage) and am not able to be out in my local community, but this hits so hard.
who words can’t bring back
they can remember
years after our tallest candles
burn to brass
Posted by ekswitaj on April 16th, 2009.
This is horrifying and so sad.
Posted by terri on April 19th, 2009.
[...] As I said on twitter yesterday, I am feeling sorta empty and confused and happy and weirded out about this whole thing. I can’t feel happy that yet another Latino human being is being thrown in jail forever–but as somebody else said THANK GOD that for just fucking ONCE the necessity of the life of a beautiful woman is affirmed. But at the same time–are any of these verdicts going to make life for trans people safer? The answer is no–more tragic news from Stacey shows this. [...]
Posted by flip flopping joy » Blog Archive » After the trail on April 23rd, 2009.
[...] As I said on twitter yesterday, I am feeling sorta empty and confused and happy and weirded out about this whole thing. I can’t feel happy that yet another Latino human being is being thrown in jail forever–but as somebody else said THANK GOD that for just fucking ONCE the necessity of the life of a beautiful woman is affirmed. But at the same time–are any of these verdicts going to make life for trans people safer? The answer is no–more tragic news from Stacey shows this. [...]
Posted by after the trial « Raven’s Eye on April 23rd, 2009.
THANK YOU. I missed this awful tragedy completely, and your words are a perfect commemoration of the weight such a loss carries with it. It’s been hard for me to read the news recently, and so I’ve been missing a lot of similar attacks against folks of color around the world. Thanks for your poem and your thoughtfulness, this is a beautiful way to remember Jimmu/Imaje.
Posted by mikdanger on April 23rd, 2009.
[...] here. There are spaces online and activists online writing about these topics. Find us, reach out, write, cry, talk, dance, meditate, create, do whatever you need to do, but know you are not [...]
Posted by Gente, Our Youth are Dying « Raven’s Eye on April 25th, 2009.