Kids' Poems and Art from the Trans Health Conference

Last Friday I had the privilege of teaching a poetry workshop with Elliott D. Smith at the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference’s Kids’ Camp. It was the start of maybe my favorite weekend of ever, since I actually got to help manage the camp the next day. I’m hoping to have something coherent to say soon about how amazing it all was, but for now I’ll share some poems and art.

We did “I Used to Be, Now I Am” poems:

I used to be a dog

but now I am a frog

I used to be a horn

but now I am a tuba

I used to be a peanut
but now I am and acorn

I used to be a star
but now I am the sun

I used to be a pancake
but now I am an elephant

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I used to be a boy

but now I’m a girl
I used to be a seed

but now I’m a flower

I used to be a caterpillar

but now I’m a butterfly

I used to be a calf

but now I’m a cow

I used to be an egg

but now I’m an alien
****************************************************

(by Erica)

I used to be a hog

but now I am a dog

I used to be a dingo

but now I play bingo.

I used to be butter

Now I flutter.

So what did I used to be?

Everything
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(By Noelle)

I used to be a duck

now I’m a chick

I used to be a chick

now I’m a carrot

I used to be a carrot

now I’m a bunny

I used to be a bunny

now I’m a quack!

And and we did mashup poems with Whip My Hair by Willow Smith, Such Great Heights by The Postal Service, Forest Whitaker by Brother Ali, and Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure.

(Remember that when we’re talking about “whipping it real hard,” we do, in fact, mean our hair.)

We kiss they’re perfectly aligned

And I have to speculate that God

I, I gets it in hmm yeah go hard

when they see me pull up, I whip it real hard

I whip it real hard, real hard, I whip it real hard

Imma get more shine that a little bit

soon as I hit the stage, applause I’m hearing it

Whether it’s black stars black cars I’m feeling it

But no other do like I do

In are eyes are mirror images and

when

I am thinking it’s a sign that the

freckles

I say come down now

with a machine.

(my little friend told me it goes in this order:)

Boys don't cry 

so I try to laugh about it

But I know that this time

Plead with you

but I know that

laugh about it

mind

eyes

(I'm not sure how to type the upside-down part...)

We don't put our hands over our mouth

(Spoken)

You probably bore me

anyway you ain't gotta love me

Imma be all right.

And yo whatever comes up, comes out

My wardrobe is jeans and faded shirt

face type shiny, I stay up and write late nights

I’m not the classic profile of what the ladies want

but when I look in the mirror I see sexy-ass me

Ayo, dependin’ on the day, and dependin’ on what I ate
I’m not mean got a neck full of razor bumps
we don’t put our hands over our mouth
And I’m hairy as hell, everywhere but fingernails
and whatever comes up comes out

we don’t put our hands over our mouths.