1.

this has always been
a hostile country

even though its veils
of freedom and democracy
somehow allowed me queerness

it took, as the price,
my history, my belonging,
my freedom

it beats
at my loved ones

a country built
upon white entitlement
on stolen land

a country built
on genocide and war

this country
has always been
a hostile country

and now
it no longer
tries to disguise
its hostility

—–

It has been hard to write. But we must, right?