"Pretty Girl" (A Poem About Being Transgender) | Teen Ink

"Pretty Girl" (A Poem About Being Transgender)

October 3, 2014
By Daniel-Cody SILVER, Maplewood, Missouri
Daniel-Cody SILVER, Maplewood, Missouri
6 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Miss Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?"


Beaten but
breathing, still, somehow,
I’ve got the disease in my veins but
I do my best to ignore it,
A curse placed upon me when I
was born with the name
‘Girl.’

 

Pretty girl, beautiful
woman, how lovely it is
to trace the curves of your body
along the edge of my fingertips..
Loving miss, precious damsel,
you’ve made the thin hairs
that brush the back of my neck
stand up, but not so much
as to run away from the
light your feminine means
allow.

 

Pretty girl, beautiful woman,
a body so beautiful, so curvy that I
might fall in love with the sight of you,
long hair that traces down your back in
rich color, but it’s not enough to hide the
boxers you are clad in.
Loving miss, precious damsel,
that body of yours could make
a man so happy, yet you
wish to be with women, yet you
wish to shave your head, yet you
wish to be someone else
entirely.

 

They call you
Pretty girl, beautiful woman,
Loving miss, precious damsel,
when all you wanted to be
was a good and honest man.


The author's comments:

This is about my experience in being trans (I am biologically female, but my gender is male), and the words my father/loved one/relatives/friends/strangers have used as a way of complimenting me, whilst not knowing that it was an insult I simply never pointed out.


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This article has 9 comments.


Bayzoul SILVER said...
on Feb. 2 2023 at 1:20 pm
Bayzoul SILVER, St. Louis, Missouri
8 articles 2 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
no matter how big or how small, you can make a huge change in this giant world -paris white-lenard

“Every moment of life is precious and can never happen again.” –

spend as much time every day with your family and loved ones because you never know when that day is your last.
- Paris white-lenard

Woah! that is deep! I LOVE IT!

on Sep. 22 2022 at 11:58 pm
TrekkingAmongTheStars BRONZE, Clayton, Missouri
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Blasphemy? Before what God? A God repulsed by the miserable humanity he created in his own image? I will not be shackled by the failures of your God. The only blasphemy is to wallow in insignificance. I have taken refuse of your God's failures and I have triumphed! There! There is my creation!
-Herbert West, Bride of Reanimator (1990)

This is an exceptionally beautiful poem, and I admire your wordsmithing skills.

on May. 16 2022 at 2:07 pm
Kai_ace_of_Spades, Burtonsville, Maryland
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
You know is a wonderful poem about being trans when halfway you start feeling dysphoric lol

on Oct. 16 2018 at 2:11 pm
highlyunlikely BRONZE, Irving, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments
I love this; it beautifully articulates something that I often struggle to put into words. Thank you for that.

on Sep. 10 2018 at 3:03 pm
wandererinthemist SILVER, Aurora, Illinois
8 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.
- Albus Dumbledore

This is truly beautiful. I can relate to this somewhat, being biologically female, but still unsure if that's really my gender. Thank you for sharing your story.

on Sep. 10 2018 at 2:35 pm
Adibbern043 BRONZE, Indiana, Indiana
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment
i can relate and i think this touches every element

on Dec. 26 2016 at 4:49 pm
spacethekidd BRONZE, Franklin, Michigan
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment
This is truly amazing, very relatable to those with a similar experience. A very eloquent way to express these feelings

on Apr. 29 2015 at 9:29 am
kaneki-did-nothing-wrong BRONZE, Easley, South Carolina
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
This is amazing. I really connect with this, being a FTM transgender myself. You are an exceptional writer and beautiful poet. Keep up the good work.

on Oct. 25 2014 at 7:29 pm
Olivia-Atlet ELITE, Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
325 articles 10 photos 1165 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To these the past hath its phantoms,
More real than solid earth;
And to these death does not mean decay,
But only another birth"
- Isabella Banks

A lot of people will be able to relate to this, and I support and applaud you for writing this wonderful poem! Most people want to ignore who they are, and this beautiful piece will move their hearts into speaking out :) Thanks so much for sharing this! CX