The Son You Never Had 1.22.18 . To Mi Papa, . Excitment and joy filled the room as the doctor said “it’s a boy Mr. & Mrs. Padilla . The second son born of his blood line . Labeled male, clothed in the color blue and stamped with false hopes and dreams . Pinned against the expectations of being just like his older brother Carlos but being more like his older sister Yajaira . The disappointment of seeing his youngest son play with Barbies, wearing a pink Barbie top and wearing his mother’s heels A faze that everyone thought he grow out of, but only grew more into The threats you made to throw away his Barbies and Sega if he didn’t cut his hair The beating you gave him with his own Barbie doll to prove a point The constant “ Eres Mujor o eres Hombre” you would yell . All the boxing and martial arts classes didn’t do the trick . The beating you gave when you found him with another boy didn’t beat the sissy out of him . And he tried, he tried so hard to be the man you wanted . He shaved his head, dressed the part, and walked the walk, but it wasn’t enough to hind the truth . I’m sorry that I couldn’t be the son you wished for . I’m sorry that the moment I came out was the day your fears come to life . “What are you doing!? Go back and change ,“ you said . “No! If I don’t live my life now then I’ll never get to be happy!” I yelled back as I walked out . “What are people gonna day!”, you said as your eyes filled with shame . I left to school that day not knowing if I had a home to go back to or even a father I could call papi again . But I came back worried and scared I had you watch “ A Girl Like Me”; you came into my room and said, “ Te quiero, no mas quiero que se feliz” . I’m sorry I let you down by not being the man you dreamed and hoped I would become and instead became the woman that you know today . Today I say thank you for still staying even though every day was a struggle for you. To see your son become your daughter, to fear the outside world, and not knowing if today would be the day your child is taken. Today I say, “ Yo tambien te quiero y quiero que sepas que yo soy feliz” #transchild #transgender #poetry #queer #lgbtq #translivesmatter















