ART

“Assigned Female at Birth”

by Juno Snider

Who am I?

I think I know the answer.

But how could I explain

That my name isn’t my name?

I could be poetic and lovely

And tell you that the stories say

That the fae will come and steal your name.

I could say that I wish the fae would come and stay

And I hope they take my name away.

But it’s more than just my name.

How could I explain that my voice isn’t my voice?

It’s the voice of someone who never had a choice

How could I explain that my face isn’t my face?

It was mine before my self-image was erased

Because I dared to care and be aware

That I was an actor everywhere

And who I am and the part I played couldn’t compare

So I’d hope and stare and sit in prayer

For somebody to free me of this affair

Because I didn’t hate my name and I didn’t hate my hair

And don’t those types of people always live in despair?

But eventually, the truth had to unfurl.

I was an actor, and I was playing a girl.

It’s a pretty easy role to play

When you’ve been practicing your whole life anyway

I was born and raised in a valley of roses

Where you can’t just wear bows and tight-fitting clothes

You are those, no matter how life goes

And as you grow, rows and rows of questions are posed

By yourself, to yourself

Is this what you are?

Is this what you owe?

No.

And I’m not going to constrict myself to it

Because it’s more than just pretty prose.

Despite it all, I will not make my prides become my woes.

I love my trans body.

I love my name--the name I chose.

I love my trans voice,

And my trans face,

And my trans hair,

And my trans heart,

And my trans soul.

I love myself.

My self.

Nobody else’s.