My mother

A child shouldn’t have to be told 

To mask themselves 

To mask their very being 

To stay, simply, alive. 

But that's exactly the task, 

that my mother was forced to endure

as I was a transgender child. 

We enjoyed a pleasant meal together

Had a nice time

But after the moment was lived 

She gave me a look 

A look letting me know 

She needed to “talk”.

“I love you” she said 

“And I love the person you have become,

The identity you posses,

And every fiber of your being”. 

My mother, the strongest woman I had ever known, 

Looked at me with tears in her eyes. 

“But it is not safe in our country.

Not for you.” 

She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes

“This is not me telling you, 

to not be your authentic self,

but to give you a warning”. 

"There are people out there,
Horrible people,
Fueled by hate,
And you have every right
To fight back against that hate."

She now struggled to meet my gaze,
Tears now falling freely.
"But right now,
It’s more important to stay alive
Then to be right."