1933, a library burnt.
A library about me.
All the knowledge about me,
Gone into fumes.
I turn into ashes in the mind of the world,
A pest to eliminate,
The idea of an idiot,
A f*ggot who has lost his mind,
The kind we send in the slaughterhouses,
A pink triangle.
And just like that,
The world can forget about us.
1933, my history destroyed in slaughterhouses;
The world forgets.
1945, the world promises not to forget.
The slaughterhouses are closed for good,
Finally f*aggots and I can breathe freely,
Without fear of existing.
The world promises this is over,
That we will leave hatred in the past.
This was sick,
This was twisted.
I am no longer an animal.
1945, no longer a pest to exterminate;
The world forgets.
1969, I throw the first brick.
People forget, but I was the first one.
It was a riot,
A rebellion,
Against oppression.
Police officers raided many inns and bars,
F*ggots and I.
I was there for each raid,
And finally I got to fight.
Though I may have arrived late,
I may have been the one who has started all of this,
The freedom we know today.
1969, f*ggots are freed;
The world forgets.
1976, I become an athlete.
Astonishment,
Suspicion,
A debate,
Am I just a cheater?
I just want to be me.
1976, far from the first cheater;
The world forgets.
1980, an organisation.
Trying to free us,
F*ggots and I,
We are the same
We will be freed,
Soon we will have our rights.
1980, I’ll get my rights;
The world forgets.
1999, a movie.
An analogy,
On my world.
A choice,
To keep the lie a truth,
Or to tell the world who I truly am.
I am a man by day,
But by night, I become the new me,
The real me.
Reality is an illusion,
I was lied to my whole life,
And now I see that I must be me.
1999, the world sees the wrong movie;
The world forgets.
2000, a flag.
I have a flag now,
To represent me,
To represent who I am.
Blue,
Pink,
White,
Pink,
Blue.
2000, I can show my true self;
The world forgets.
2003, I can have an X,
2004, a novel about me.
2008, I am elected mayor,
2008, I am murdered.
2009, I have a day of visibility,
2009, I am no longer a psychiatric condition.
2013, I can go in whichever toilet I want,
2013, a book for kids about me.
I seem to be free;
The world forgets.
Then, I seemed to be free.
I am now more than just a victim,
A thing we hear about in the media.
I am a father,
A mother,
A parent.
A son,
A daughter,
A child.
A stranger at the corner of the street,
I am allowed to live as myself,
And I am me,
I have always been.
From the first ones on this land,
To the ones that are to come.
Then, I was free;
The world forgets.
2017, a great show set up by a monster,
2018, famous British books turn sour.
2021, a debate once more,
2021, the most laws against me in the world.
2022, I participate in the Olympics,
2022, the most laws against me in the world.
2023, I am killed at sixteen years old—one among many,
2023, the most laws against me in the world.
2024, I, a sixteen year old, am assaulted in the school bathrooms—I die the next day,
2024, rich man in the world hates his own daughter, and I disown him,
2024, the most laws against me in the world.
2024, FACISM returns into the United States.
THE WORLD FORGETS.
2025, I fear for my life,
Books are banned—1933.
Am I going back to the slaughterhouse—1945.
I threw the brick that brought my own people, traitors, to freedom—1969.
My existence is a debate—1976.
They call themselves “LGB without the T”—1980.
‘Be your real self’ was a quick forgotten lesson—1999.
Burn my flag—2000.
I DON’T WANT TO BE ME;
THE WORLD FORGETS.
MURDER ME,
EXTERMINATE ME,
ANNIHILATE ME,
YOU ARE KILLING ME.
CAN’T YOU SEE?
YOUR SILENCE HAS TURNED INTO A WEAPON,
YOUR DEBATES HAVE TURNED ME INTO A CHEAT,
YOUR TWEETS HAVE TURNED ME INTO A RAPIST,
YOUR RHETORICS HAVE TURNED ME INTO A MONSTER.
I CAN SEE YOUR HATRED SPREAD IN THE WORLD,
MY VOTE IS USELESS AGAINST YOURS,
I DON’T WANT TO BE ME.
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT TOILETS AND SPORTS,
NOT ABOUT PRONOUNS AND KIDS,
NOT ANYMORE,
IT’S ABOUT KILLING US.
YOU ARE KILLING US.
(Silence.)
Learn about transgender history.
1945—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_again
1976—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9e_Richards
1980—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Campaign
1999—https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-53692435
2000—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_flag
2003—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_MacFarlane
2004—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_(Peters_novel)
2008a—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Rasmussen
2008b—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Angie_Zapata
2009a—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Transgender_Day_of_Visibility
2009b—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_transgender_history#cite_note-106
2013a—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_transgender_history#cite_note-136
2013b—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_transgender_history#cite_note-136
2017—https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pt-barnum-greatest-humbug-them-all-180967634/
2018—https://theweek.com/feature/1020838/jk-rowlings-transphobia-controversy-a-complete-timeline
2022a—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellia_Green
2024a—https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nex-benedict-death-explainer-1.7156530
2024d—https://www.bbc.com/news/live/czxrnw5qrprt
2025a—https://translegislation.com/learn
2025b—https://pen.org/banned-books-transgender-stories/
Remember the victims of cruelty, even if there are too many to count.
Special thanks to my amazing partner, who listened to me sobbing while I was reading it outloud for the first time—and who was also sobbing by the end.
