Packing Baggage
They are running away
They would go to college this year
If their parents would offer
As much support as they are funding
“They” does not always mean “Many”
They are one person; why is that
So hard for others to understand
Why won’t people call them
A name that it theirs, not from birth?
They are seventeen, the same as I
But they will meet other runaways,
Younger, thirteen, twelve
Because of the parents who said
“You are too young to understand
Who you are.”
They would not do this if they could
Be called their name, wear the clothes
They feel comfortable in, but instead
Of waiting through another year
Of discomfort and dysphoria to become
An adult, they are running away
To the bridge, where the river awaits them.