Dear Conservatives

Dear Conservatives,

There is a large amount of

Anti-LGBTQ bills darkening the sky to

Rain down upon us,

To wash out our existence,

With a flood of hate

In the name of the law.

You overlook the fact that,

We are sequoia,

Standing firm in who we are,

Our roots planted deep in the history of

Human civilization.

Before massive ships sailed

Over the horizon in hopes of

Expansion,

We were recognized

For our two spirited nature.

We were resourceful,

Necessary to build a culture,

We were the fertilizer

Gently placed at the base

Allowing cultures to stretch high

Towards the stratosphere.

Through our acceptance,

We became

Stronger

From the people

We nurtured.

When moonlit faced invaders entered

To darken our lands,

They attempted to mangle

What had been cultivated for

Centuries.

They became a hurricane of assimilation

Ruffling our way of life

To decimate

What we stood for.

Covering our trunks with strange

Cloths

Because our barks were considered

Uncivilized.

They chose the color of the cloth

Based on the assumption of

Who we were

When we were born.

Using strong gales of

Fashion conformity,

To break us, but

We survived.

They created lumber machines to

Alienating us from other trees,

Prohibiting us access to pollination.

Drawing upon the caliginous cloud of

Legislation to outlaw us.

Gloom hovered over our tops,

Keeping us hidden from the world

They constructed around us

Because we were an eye sore.

Refusing to recognize the beauty

We have held within

Each of us for hundreds of year.

But…

We survived.

We let our love for one another

Become the sunshine we craved

To pierce the turbid clouds

And become the voice for us

To speak up.

Our love became the seeds to

Germinate the next generation

Sustaining a life free from

Segregational storms,

Discriminational disasters,

Flourishing though

In the rainbow created from

The showers of

Authenticity.

Presently,

Our forest is ablaze in the

Inferno of anti-Trans bills.

You sit on cushioned seats,

Basking in the success of the

Wildfire you created.

Hoping the

Winds of your belief

Will be enough to burn us completely.

Clearly, you forget the importance of

Forest fires to our

Coniferous lands.

These fires will aid us to

Replant our seeds.

Fertilize our soils.

Establish the next generation of

Sequoia

Who will stand up against you.

We have survived for centuries,

Utilizing the flames of disdain to grow.

We are strong enough

To remain entrenched

Against your flood of erasure.

We are sequoia,

We will always

survive.

Sincerely,

The LGBTQ+ community.