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
to break you.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” hover_type=”none” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” padding=”” dimension_margin=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” last=”no”][fusion_text]
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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