If Only There Were No Trans Kids
From A Humanist Devotional
By Mitch Roshannon
“Some forms of political doctrine, for instance, function religiously, reflecting the worst features of orthodoxy and authoritarianism, especially when they sacrifice individuals on the altar of Utopian promises.” – Humanist Manifesto II, 1973
If only there were no trans kids
or queers in public squares
there could be peace in America.
Somehow, the eradication of
“Adam & Steve” will repair economies
unsustainable, tenuous, and fraught.
Dad would stop hitting mom;
steak and collard greens on the table
rather than cheap ramen and regret.
God would return to us his blessings
of simple lives and un-awakened masses.
Happy to look at shadows on cave walls.
If not for those dirty letters LGB. . .
we promise, we’ll only take the one.
QIA+ devils in our midst.
Read not to love one another as He
loved us; instead that Jesus came not bearing
peace, but a sword. For what?
To carve from the alphabet; withered
hands, wrists still healing, our brothers,
sisters, siblings? Shall there not be room?
Heaven’s gates closed; Saint Peter’s
rifle sights aimed at the trans girl who dared
try to find solace in a 5k or a swim meet?
Give me one good reason, Lord—
besides You, why I should hate her transformation,
glory she herself cannot yet see. . .
one good reason to dismiss her
and still, I won’t.
Mitch Roshannon is a writer based in the coal region of Pennsylvania. He has previously (and gratefully) been published by Panoply, Santa Fe Writers Project, Interfaith America, and others. He is currently working on a Chapbook titled Humanist Devotional which writes poetry and micro-essays inspired by quotes pulled from the Secular Humanist Manifestos.
Photo credit: Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash.
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