WRITTEN IN A RAINBOW NOTEBOOK

I’ve been handed a thin notebook at events 

Where no one quite looks me in the eye

Every time I hear about a person like me 

I reach for relief 

But it’s caught in the confusion of isolation, of 

Short hair and silver rings 

On hands that push me to be

Solely supportive

I’m a shower of sparks, my colors 

Are always a surprise, so I still don’t know 

How to call out, how to just say it 

Writing in a rainbow notebook seems ambiguous

Enough to be safe

Because I can burn, tear, discard, force it

To keep its secrets as long

As I don’t use the words I can’t ever 

Take back, once you’ve shown someone 

Technicolor, there’s no

Turning on the black and white 

So I’ll keep writing in this nearly real

Rainbow notebook, just so I can turn around 

Have the world both ways and keep the safety of 

Anonymity