Ebony

TransGriot Note: It's been a while since I've been motivated to write a poem about something. I started writing the first draft of this one about Ebony Whitaker the day she was buried.

An MKR Poem


Ebony
Died violently
At age twenty
Because she was T

Tossed out at sixteen
Onto Memphis streets too mean
With pockets very lean
Because of her gender dream

So this lovely teen
To make her green
And fulfill her gender dream
Strut her stuff for sex fiends

Living a street life
Full of torment and strife
While evolving to be
Ebony

She died painfully and quick
At the hands of a horny trick
Out of hatred and pure meanness
'Cause he discovered she had a penis

No vagina between her legs
Was the reason he shot her dead
Thought that was enough justification
To facilitate her short life's termination

This beautiful young woman
The world didn't understand
That although she was born Rodney
She was never a man

Thank you HRC,
And Barney
Because you don't care about transgender me
There's no Ebony

To the Memphis media who refused to look
Inside their AP stylebook
Did these peeps even go to journalism school?
'Cause the coverage of Ebony and Tiffany definitely wasn't cool

And to the cowardly waste of DNA
Who callously took your life away
This monstrous crime will not stand
Justice for you we'll always demand

My dearest Ebony
Now your femme spirit's flying free
Wonder how your life would've turned out to be
With unconditional love from your family