LGBTQ+ Poem: Reflections of a Living Ghost, by Aaron Mcdaniel

My mother cries over the body of her living son.
She cries while I stand before her,
She shouts “YOU ARE GONE”
But I’m right here?

She speaks of a little girl,
Of fond memories and family holidays
But I do not remember her,
I remember me.

She says I am five,
But I am sixteen.
She tells me she loves me,
But she thinks me a murderer.

I am the man, the boy, who took away her daughter.
I killed her,
Erased her,
I left her behind.

I tell my mother “she” is not here
That he is here
That he always has been,
That he never left

She sighs.
She says I am five
I am sixteen.