(Acetone transfer of handwriting) I was presenting female at a wedding when my uncle made a comment about "those damn tr*nnys" and how Trump was going to get rid of them. It made my cry in secret because I suddenly felt unsafe.

I cry in secret when I feel alone in my body, when I feel unseen by the world, by myself. When I hear conversations about queerness being for attention, when I hear about Queerness being a luxury. I cry in secret when I see friends and loved ones in immeasurable amounts of pain because people refuse to care to understand.

I found someone who really loves me. Now, when I cry, it's not in secret. I cry in her arms. We hold each other. Our love is an act of rebellion.

I cry in secret knowing that if I ever marry a man, he will expect me to bear his children. To work part time maybe, to support his career, even though I am more career-oriented + driven then any man I've ever met. I cry in secret in panic attacks thinking about pregnancy, my fear closing my throat. I cry because I can't get my tubes tied unless I'm older + doctors think I'll regret my decision later. I cry because we are taught to expect children, but don't consider the affects it could have, and I am afraid.

I cry for my pain, my trauma

I cry for her trauma

I cry for the pain we have given each other

I cry for the beauty of love

I cry for the world, full of pain, on the edge of bursting

I cry for the people I cannot touch or help

I cry because most days I am too numb to comprehend the immeasural suffering

or the small moments of beauty in human life.