Two poems by Cheryl Dumesnil

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Bible Study

Truly I tell you,

The life expectancy

whatever you do

for transgender women of color

for these sisters of mine,

living in the United States

that you do unto me.

is thirty-one years old.

Matthew 25:40

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What You Must Believe

As a mound of dust and a mouthful of spit
is to a brick,

as that one spit-and-dust brick
is to a wall

is to a shelter for a family
fed by one pot

hung over a fire tended all day
and all night, too—

my love, this
is how you will survive—

as a spoon scraping concrete
is to escape—

no matter what they do
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Cheryl Dumesnil is the author of two books of poetry, Showtime at the Ministry of Lost Causes and In Praise of Falling (University of Pittsburgh Press), and a memoir, Love Song for Baby X (Ig Publishing). A freelance writer and writing coach, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife and two kids. Read more about Cheryl here.

Photo credit: Francisco Gonzalez via a Creative Commons license.

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