They took away what was yours
When you took it back;
they say they granted
You think you'll get what you deserve?
No--
It's a game of dice,
You can only expect
You can't do anything
Hold your heart,
And embrace your soul
Wear your armour,
And fight for it
They take and they take,
they whisper
Survive is what they say--
They who don't have a tongue
All we can say in No
So, I cry tears of glitter
they watch, they know,
they smile
Don't you dare show
Be a stone-- She says,
as she watches me in the
middle of the river
I've taken something not mine
To live, I'll have to die
Bathe in my blood once I'm gone
Weave my agony into a song
I cherished my heart
Soothed my soul
My love was a curse,
my heart had to explode
Forgive me for I've got lost
I never had a road
All I do is cry tears of glitter,
I watch, I smile because
I know--
You can't do anything at all
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139,211 Literary Works • 672,510 Reviews
Hi! This is Pebble with an autumn-themed review for spooky season! (Based on the incredible YWS S'more Method, of course)
Crisp Air — initial thoughts and noticings
This poem called to me from the depths of the Green Room because of the description you gave it (hi, I’m also queer :) ) and the interesting title, and it pulled me in with its unique, twisty formatting. The thoughts are presented in more abstract ways, but it seems to present a feeling of powerlessness against a discriminatory society, especially with the last line.
Trees of Every Color Imaginable — formatting and style
The first thing that strikes me when I look at this poem is the formatting. The stanzas stand in separate blocks winding along the page. This makes me wonder if it’s formatted like this to represent the long and winding road to gain rights for marginalized groups, and especially for trans people.
The poem is split up into chunks of text, feeling a bit disjointed, which I think fits the tone of the poem and the narrator’s attitudes toward what is happening.
Apples and Cinnamon — the sweetest, best parts
I like the first stanza and how it reflects the fight for rights of LGBTQ+ people and many marginalized communities. Society strips us of our rights, but when we are able to reclaim them, they say that they were kind enough to regrant them to us. They deny us of our power and paint themselves to be the good guys.
I also like the 3rd stanza a lot. It shows how people will take from marginalized people and then tell them to survive, tell them that at least they’re still living, ask them why they’re not grateful, all while still taking from them over and over.
Fallen Leaves — critiques/suggestions
I’m a bit confused about who the “She” is in the 6th stanza. A She is never mentioned again in the poem, and I don’t fully understand what you were referring to with those lines. Perhaps another stanza could be added before or after it with more information on this She. Is She a person, a concept, an emotion, a group?
The Perfect Pumpkin(s) — my favorite quotes
Golden Sunset — closing thoughts
I love it when writers take a terrible situation and turn it into a beautiful work of art and poetry. This poem calls upon my inner activist, it makes readers want to stand up and fight against the feeling that “You can't do anything at all.” It is a cry of agony, and a call to action. It says that the lives we deserve do not exist and society will not hand them to us, so we must go out and make them ourselves. When they want us to feel powerless and refuse to acknowledge our inner power, we must continue to fight. Thank you for writing this.
As a trans youth, with laws in my country making life difficult, I completely agree with every word. When you reference the game of dice I think of a casino and how rare it is to win. In other words, the "game of dice" symbol definitely hit the mark. Well done sharing your emotion that many of us can relate to, this piece really makes me want to fight for our rights back. Very inspiring. It hurts me to think you had to write this, because it shouldn't be inspiring. You shouldn't have had to say these things. Your country should never have made you go through this. And that knowledge only makes the writing more impactful.
Thank you for your comment. I'm actually a bi person, so I have been pretty active with the queer community for few year. The right for the queer community have become better in my country in comparision to the past.Even some laws for the general citizen were absurb, so I never expected much. But watching the situation now, I know, people are fighting out there. This whole poem was inspired by our new law, where they passed that transwomen are now seen as women (provided the facility and security given to women). It is a happy moment, but the first thing clicked in my head that who gave them the authority to refuse us our rights in the first place. I might be wrong to think that but it just what I thought. I think we got lucky here, and people around the are still suffering; not beecause they didn't fight hard enough, but maybe because they didn't have that much luck. All I wish for is that every living should be able to live freely, but that's still not possible right. So yeah, the poem is just an impersonation of my thoughts
hey this is a very inspiring poem and i love it cause im secretly trans too and it infuriates me when the government tries to act like trans people dont exist like trying to get rid of gender affirming care which saves lives and i love how it just flows together beautifully and i hate it when people go and support when the government does this kinds of things cause you say your inclusive but you dont show it or act like we do matter
Thank you so much for your support. I agree with your point. Tbh there isn't much to agree upon, that's the literal truth. I don't get how people get to decide how others should live or not. It's very hypocritical given the fact that most of these countries call themselves democratic which swears to protect there people.