Tree Trans-lator

How can I say:

“I am One Person”

“I am One Trans Person”

“I speak as only One Trans Person,”

“For only One Trans Person”—

And somehow you hear:

“I am Many People,”

“I am Every Trans Person,”

“I speak as Every Trans Person,”

“For Every One?"

As if I’m some kind of Lorax

Who speaks for the fucking trees

Where the silenced leaves stand still in fear

And the trunks hit the ground gently,

Not in defeat but in exhaustion,

Chopped by sharp blades of misunderstanding and misinterpretations

At the violent hands of cis white men

Who claim ownership over a forest they’re not even a part of.

Apparently it’s okay because

As long as there’s just One Person,

Just One Trans Person,

To speak as Every Trans Person,

For Every One—

Then there is no need for other trees.

If lumberjacks can’t translate the tongues of the roots and the trunks

Then why should they speak at all?

But without the life of a forest,

Even the Lorax is left with nothing to say.